The Zombie War
by ZombieChristian22
Summary: In the Apocalypse, only those who step up can survive... Kyle is a survivor in the zombie apocalypse and is left with his fellow survivors to survive. Credit of cover art belongs to: /user/Party Pop
1. The Dawn

It was a rather crappy day as usual at my high school. I got tripped by the school bully... again.

"Some kid." He said sarcastically as always.

Oh boy, did I not expect what came later that day...

I was on the bus when my phone rang.

"Hello?" I said.

"Kyle, baby?" My mom asked.

"Mom, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Something happened. Something bad. The gun is in your room. Get it and arm yourself..." She was cut off by static.

"What was that?" I asked myself.

Then, the radio changed channels.

"This is the Emergency Channel. The Rabies Outbreak in Russia has currently spread to the U.S. Arm yourselves and off ANYONE you think may have been ex- hang on, my boss is saying we need to get off the air." Then, the radio was overrun with gunfire and screams.

"Bus driver, step on it!" I said.

We arrived home to see corpses and a rabid version of my mother.

"Oh my God." I said.

She then charged at me. I was almost bitten, then my bus driver grabbed his crowbar and saved me.

"Thanks..." I said.

"It's Gary. Your welcome." Gary said.

We went inside and grabbed the gun and ammo.

"I never thought I would need this." I said.

We grabbed the supplies and locked ourselves in the basement and prepared for a long wait...

1 YEAR LATER

"We're out of supplies," Gary stated, "I think we're gonna have to go out soon."

I agreed and turned the radio on, like I did daily, searching for any signs of other survivors.

"Attention all survivors. Those who are still alive, head for the high school. We have claimed it a sanctuary."

"Oh my God." I said, as Gary and I looked at each other.

"Well, let's go!" Gary said.

It took a while, but we arrived. We saw the walls and we ran. Then, a door opened and a loudspeaker squeaked to life.

"Identify yourselves." A voice on the other side of the door said.

"Gary, and this here's Kyle." He said.

The gate in front of the door opened and a figure stepped out.

"I'm guessing you heard the broadcasts." The figure said.

"Yeah. Why?" I asked.

"Well, we can only take one of you." The figure said.

"Wait, I don't understand." I replied.

"We didn't think so many people would hear it so soon. People came rushing in like Black Friday. We just don't have enough room for the both of you." The figure - now shivering in the cold - said.

"Then take Kyle!" Gary said.

"No, there has be another way." I said. I was with the guy a while. I didn't want him to die and turn like the others.

"It's you or me inside those walls. I say it's you." He said.

"Alright." I said. I could tell he wasn't thinking otherwise.

I grabbed the baseball bat I found, looked and waved at Gary one last time, and walked in the gates.

"I'm sorry..." The figure said, clearly once a principle.

"It's alright. At least he isn't dead." I said.

Then I was brought to an apartment they claimed and was shown my room.

"5-A. Here are the keys." The principle said.

"Thanks. Miss..."

"Celestia." She said.

I laid down and finally fell asleep... Only to be woken up by the alarm clock. Of course they didn't unplug that.

"Good. You're up." My roommate said.

"Well, that was quite the wake-up call." I said.

"Ha, ha. The name's Scootaloo." She said.

"I'm Kyle." I replied.

"Come on, I'll give you the tour." Scootaloo said as she opened the door and walked out.

As we walked around, I noticed the walls and everyone on top.

"Who are those guys?" I asked.

"They're the Watchers. They pretty much guard the place." Scootaloo said.

As the tour went on, I saw the kitchen areas. Yes, there were so many people, the cafeteria wasn't enough.

"I'm surprised they had enough room for you." Scootaloo said.

"So am I. How long were you here?" I asked.

"I was a student here. We just couldn't abandon this place. So much has happened here..." Scootaloo said.

I went on my day choosing either Watcher, Hunter, or Education. I decided to choose Watcher. I could see more, but not get in the way. My dream job.

"Are you sure?" Celestia said.

"I'm sure." I said.

So my training was short. I was taught how to handle the kick of a rifle better, also I learned a few things on the Infected.

"They're quick, but easy to kill. If you're cornered, an axe to the neck should do it. If you're not, aim for the chest," the weapons instructor said.

Lunch came, the food was surprisingly good for a can of Hash. I was able to catch up on the history of CHS from Scootaloo's sister, Rainbow Dash in the library.

"Then, we turned into a MASSIVE horse thing and saved everyone." RD finished. I couldn't believe it at first. But over time... I'd understand. Later, I met up with her and talked for a bit.

"So, I heard you're new here." RD said.

"Yeah." I said.

"I heard about Gary." RD said.

"Well, rather out there than dead. How about you? Did you lose anyone yet?" I asked.

"Yeah... A guy named Flash Sentry." She said.

"I'm sorry..." I said.

"I wonder what Twilight's gonna say..." I heard her mutter.

I stood in shock and turned her way, but she was already gone. Scootaloo was with her friends trying some stunt with her scooter. Little did I know what I would become because of her... Look at me rant on. That night, I fell asleep knowing that I was safe and secure. I felt like nothing could touch us. Boy, was I wrong...


	2. The Attack

Honestly, my 3 months at CHS were okay. The way they built most of the place reminds me of games like Minecraft in a way. I finally met all of RD's friends, they're okay. Odd, but okay. I also became a pretty good Watcher. I've been promoted from Scout to Guardian, that means that I'll start to guard the wall. But then Diamond Tiara stepped in.

"Maybe he'll jam the gun." I overheard Diamond say to her friend Silver Spoon.

"Or maybe he'll make the gun explode!" Silver said before bursting into laughter.

Hearing them, I thought of my old school's bully and how people worshiped him and cursed those who didn't. At least Joel wasn't a rich little jerk who owned a 3-football-field-sized mansion. He was just a football player who got full of himself and decided to make people respect him. But I knew it was bigger than that with those two...

"There's something wrong with those two. I'll find out someday." I told myself as I got ready for the big day.

It was astonishing how the wall was made. A few freight cars all around the school and guard rails for Watchers on the top. As I climbed up, I thought of what Diamond said, could something happen and could I be blamed? I pushed it away right after I thought of it. There's no way something bad could happen, it was a low zombie day. Even if I DID mess up, what else could happen besides a zombie or two? I climbed up and met with the others.

"Your station is 022. Right near the corner of the wall." My weapons instructor said.

I found it and grabbed the gun and started aiming. The day was long but fun. I managed to shoot a few zombies here and there. I even managed to find a survivor. Sure, he didn't get in, but I found him. Later, I decided to look for more survivors and I found a horde of Infected coming at us!

"Fire!" Someone said.

I fired like a madman at the horde, all I saw was zombie heads exploding and the corpses collapsing. After a matter of minutes, the horde was a bloody pile. But then, I saw a even bigger horde charge towards the 7 unguarded posts.

"Turn around!" I said and only a few turned to see a big zombie stampede.

"Fire!" I said. Unfortunately, the horde tore down the wall and charged in! We shot like the Wild West and the horde fell. I saw the gaping hole in wall and thought that we were screwed.

* * *

"What happened?" Celestia asked.

"The horde tore through the wall. Only Kyle, Jacob, and Gabe turned around..." The weapons instructor said.

"Well, the only thing we can do is rebuild the wall and hire more Watchers for those posts. This will not happen again." Celestia said.

"Thank God no one was killed." I said.

"Yeah... Next time, listen to this kid." Celestia said.

"Yes ma'am." My weapons instructor said.

As I walked to my room, I heard Diamond and Silver Spoon giggling nonstop. I decided to see what was up.

"Maybe he shot a twig by accident!" I heard Silver Spoon say.

"Maybe he shot a survivor!" Diamond said before exploding into laughter.

See what I mean by something being wrong with them? Anger boiled from my feet to my throat. But, I just walked away knowing that they'll understand what happened. I decided to knock when I went to my apartment, when you have a roommate of the opposite gender, you don't want to just waltz in. When I went in, I saw how Scootaloo decorated it a little bit with a radio and a stove.

"Where did you get this?" I asked.

"The run." She said.

"You went on the run?!" I asked.

Before you ask, I honestly wasn't jealous, I was more concerned.

"Yep. I managed to find the radio and since we have 50 generators, why not use some of that power?" Scootaloo asked.

That was Scootaloo. Always taking risks for something pointless. One time, I saw her try a half pipe on her scooter. Sure enough, she fell, wasn't bad though, but it did break 3 ribs and put her in the "hospital" for a week.

As the day went on, I started hearing conversations about the wall.

"Now what? Are we just gonna use up more wood on it?"

"Are we just gonna leave it?"

"What about the portal? We gotta wait!" Sunset Shimmer said.

I heard about the portal from Scootaloo. At first I thought she was joking, then I heard about the Dazzlings.

"The whole world would've been driven back to monarchy if we didn't stop them." Sunset Shimmer said.

So, the rest of the day was me guarding the repair group as they were working on the wall. As I was guarding, I saw 3 hooded figures enter my line of fire. I called out and explained what I saw.

"Could be nothing. Or..." A builder said as he stood stunned.

He pulled out the radio.

"Ma'am, I think Kyle saw... THEM." He said.

Celestia came out with a sniper rifle.

"Where did you see them?"

"Right here." I said while pointing to the backside of the school. She aimed at the trees.

"Come on out! We know you're there!" She called.

Then, all I saw was an army of bullets flying out of the air.

"RUN!" Celestia said.

I ran to my room and knocked.

"Yeah?" Scootaloo asked.

"Get your stuff, we're being attacked!" I said.

I heard Scootlaoo rush all around the room and I walked in to see the room nearly empty. Not counting the stove, of course. We ran to see Rainbow Dash and her friends at the gates ready to leave.

"Wait for us!" I said.

We caught up and got in the bus.

"Please tell me one of you have a driver's license!" I said.

"I do." Vinyl Scratch said.

It was the first time I heard her talk to anyone...

As we were driving, I looked back at CHS to see more bullets fly.

"Now what?" I asked.

"We move forward." Applejack said.

"I agree." Rainbow Dash said.

"We need to find a place for the night." Rarity said.

"I think I know a place." Vinyl said.

She made a U turn for a neighborhood nearby.

"Where are we going?" Scootaloo said.

"There's a flat rooftop in the town. I just need to find it." Vinyl said.

Let's hope we can survive...


	3. Megaville

We managed to find a rooftop in a small city to call home for now.

"We just need to make the best of it." I said.

Later that day, I went on watch to see an armored Humvee drive around the corner.

"What was that, military?" Scootaloo asked.

"We should follow them. Sunset, Vinyl, and Scootaloo stay here and guard the camp." Applejack said.

We followed their tire tracks until we saw a massive city with walls 4 stories tall. Who knows how thick they are...

"Whoa... Those are big walls." Rainbow said in awe.

I turned to read a sign saying 'Megaville'.

"Looks like a quarantine zone." I said.

"How can you tell?" Applejack asked.

"Nothing's good like this these days, unless it was military property." I said.

As we got closer, I started to notice some things. One, the walls had remote turrets, two, the city was flooded with supplies, and third, there were no soldiers whatsoever. There were a few people though.

"Let's see if we-" BANG! My sentence was cut off by a gunshot from within the walls.

"What was that? Zombies?!" Pinkie asked.

Then another one came, then one more. We had to get closer, but I knew we would get shot like Robocop. [You know, the old one.]

"We need to head back. We'll see more later." Rainbow Dash said.

As we were leaving, a bullet JUST passed my leg.

"HANDS!" A voice boomed.

We showed our hands and stepped forward.

"Now, you drop your weapons! NOW!" The voice then commanded.

We dropped our guns and knives along with our holsters.

"What do you want from us?" I asked loud enough for them to hear.

"Your guns. Now, leave!" The voice said.

I managed to grab a knife and my Judge.

"Now what?" Fluttershy asked when we got back.

"We go to the far end of the city we found and hope they don't try to hunt us." I said.

"There's another city about 50 miles from here. I say It's worth the risk. It's better than military wannabes shooting at us with a Humvee." Sunset said.

"Alright then. Our goals are set, tomorrow, we pack up and leave the city after we search it for weapons." I said.

"What do you mean?" Scootaloo asked.

"They took most of our guns and knives. But they didn't get my gun." I said.

"Good thing we stayed here. Otherwise we ALL would've lost our weapons." Vinyl said.

As we were packing up, I decided to go on a run for some guns with Scootaloo.

"Where are we gonna find guns?" Scootaloo asked.

"Store cash registers. There's always a handgun or two in case of break-ins." I said.

We searched every store in a neighborhood. We managed to find 4 handguns and 2 shotguns along with 6 boxes of ammo. As we walked back, I saw a few zombies.

"Heads up." I said.

As they charged at us, I used the baseball bat I found at my house. Surely enough, it worked, and those zombies were goners.

"Well then, that was festive." Scootaloo said.

"Yeah, no kidding." I said.

As we walked back, I managed to find a few batteries for the flashlight

"We could use more batteries." Scootaloo said.

I then saw an old Christmas tree on a display.

"Wow. That's a big one." I said.

I saw a small smirk on her face.

"Oh, yeah? You should see the one at the orpha-" She stopped herself immediately. I knew she was going to say orphanage.

"Wait, you were an orphan?!" I asked. She never told me this.

"Yeah... I never knew my family since they died. I spent my day after school in the orphanage..." She said.

"I'm sorry... Does Rainbow Dash know?" I asked.

"Yes. There was nothing you could have done. It just was my life back then. Come on, let's head back." She said.

We arrived back to the rooftop and gave the guns out.

"So which way?" Vinyl asked.

"There's a compass to the left of you, keep up the red arrow as close to the N as you can without us crashing." I said.

We kept on driving until we saw a city with a sign saying 'Townsville'.

"The place could use some work..." I said to myself.

We managed to build a wall out of wooden pallets around 5 buildings. It wasn't much, but it'll hold. As night fell, I saw a few survivors heading our way.

"Sunset, I saw survivors." I said.

I kept watching as they entered a building nearby. I leaned against the walls to listen.

"We should be careful. If they find us, they'll probably kill us or worse." I heard one voice said.

I think I should move in. But they could be armed, or they could be from Megaville. I listened some more.

"I think we should hold off here for a little bit. It could help us against Megaville." A different voice said.

That was it.

"You know them?" I asked without entering.

I hear a person grab a gun.

"Are you friendly?" I hear a male ask.

"Yeah. Not Megaville if that's what you mean." I say.

I see 2 people come out of the house.

"Good, I was ready to reload. I'm Dexter." He said.

"Alright Dexter, I'm Kyle. Is that your sister?" I asked.

"No, I'm Blossom." She said.

"Alright. What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Trying to escape Megaville. Of course, we see it won't work here." Dexter said.

"Yeah, we have a building near here if you want to stay." I said.

As we were heading back, I thought I could get some answers.

"So, who's in charge there?" I asked.

"Her name's Bell." Blossom said.

"So, should we prepare?" I asked.

"Yeah. Prepare for war once she finds us with your people..."


	4. The Meeting

We arrived to the other city ready to meet up in the warehouse.

"It's now or never." I said.

As we were setting up the meeting room, I saw a jeep drive towards us.

"That's them." Sunset called.

Knowing the meeting, I stepped forward towards the jeep, towards Bell.

"Well, we have a lot to talk about." She said.

She looked close to her 20s. Maybe she was in the quarantine zone...

"So, here's the deal. We want our weapons back. I understand you have more than us, so you can spare a few pistols, right?" I asked.

"Well, as much as I would like to, I noticed you have THEM with you." Bell pointed at Dexter and Blossom.

"Yeah, so what?" I asked.

"These people, they owe me more than you think. A few guns won't do it..." Bell snapped her fingers and 10 men with assault rifles came out.

"Hey, we said no guns!" I said.

"You shouldn't trust me. Now, you give THEM to me, and you people can walk away untouched." Bell said with a smirk.

I grabbed my Judge and drew it.

"No. They're one of us." I said.

"Well, we don't have a deal. Fire away." The men managed to miss me by inches.

We ran for the exits only to see a horde of zombies flood the doors. But they were walking...

"Run!" I called out.

We ran for the other exit only to be blocked by the guards. We had no choice, we grabbed their guns and pushed them to the zombies to use as bait. We made it back to tell the others.

"These people lied, tried to kill us, and threatened our friends' survival. We'll have to regroup next week and find a way to work this out." I said.

"What we need to do is fight back." Rainbow said.

"Well, they have a military grade Humvee and we have a few pistols. We need to wait this out." I said.

We decided to send 2 of us for more recon. We needed to know what we were up against.

"I'll go." Fluttershy stepped up.

"I'll go too." Rarity said.

"Okay then. Good luck." I said as they grabbed their backpacks and left.

"I hope they'll be okay. Fluttershy isn't the best when it comes to survival." Rainbow said.

"She protects whoever can't protect themselves. We should respect that." I said.

"Whatever, Kyle." Rainbow said in ignorance as she walked away.

As we were adding to the walls, I saw 2 soldiers with AK-47s on them.

"We need to talk." One of them said.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"We want to join you. We and 20 more of us escaped and we want to join you. Maybe we can help you end what Bell's done. Please..." Another guard begged.

I was forced to make a choice: Firepower and knowledge, or food preservation. I made a choice soon after.

"Okay, then." I said.

"WHAT? Kyle, t-they can't! They could be spies and we don't have that much food left." Rainbow argued.

"We need the guns. Plus they could have information to tell us who we're up against." I said.

"Thank you. Thank you. You won't regret this, most of us were construction, the rest of us were guards. We can help you build up the place."

"Sure thing. Just don't try to put a bullet in our backs."

"Of course." The guard said as they walked in.

As we were talking, I noticed how the guards worked. If they were going to kill us, they would've done it by now.

"So, why did you leave?" I asked one of the guards.

"You think we wanted to harm others? Bell came and took over Megaville in the first months. We watched as she raided other quarantine camps, shot innocent beggars, and slaughtered anyone who approached the walls. And we were forced to sit down and build the turrets and thicken the walls, nothing more. So, when Bell was gone, me and 21 other soldiers escaped when no-one was lookin'. We were gonna search the city for supplies, but then we found you people and decided to help."

I took that under consideration as Scootaloo approached me.

"Are you sure we can trust these people?"

"...Yeah." I replied as I checked my Judge for rounds.

"Well, now what?" Scootaloo asked me.

"If we're going to survive, we might want to take the Home Depot and use its greenhouse for crops, and then we'll need to make our own. We can't rely on runs forever." I said.

"Okay then. Also we could get that library and grab some survival guides." Scootaloo said.

"As long as I don't have to drink my urine, I'll be fine." I joked.

I then heard Scootaloo giggle a little.

"Alright. See you later." Scootaloo walked away towards the apartment complex.

Then, Blossom and Dexter approached me.

"What do we do now?" Dexter asked.

"We have people, food, guns, and shelter. All we need now is more of this city. Once we get a quarter of it, we can talk again." I said.

"Kyle, I know this woman. She can tear right through here with _no _regrets. Just give it time, and if she tries to kill us, we'll fight back." Blossom said as she and Dexter walked back to the armory.

Then, Applejack approached me.

"Ah hope you know what 'yer doin'."

"Trust me, I do. Trying to end a war before it starts." I said as Applejack walked towards the apartment with the others.

Did she have a point? Do I know what I'm doing? Is Bell more than she says she is? Why do Blossom and Dexter always act paranoid every time I say her name? More importantly, why did Bell want THEM so much?

I'll find out soon enough.


	5. Family

We decided use the library for a meeting place. Democracy, you know? Yep, Rainbow Dash is gun training and fitness coach, Applejack oversees the farming, Pinkie controls the cookouts and parties, Vinyl is in charge of the supply runs, Fluttershy tames the horses and cattle, Rarity makes the armor using thick leather and plating, Dexter leads the science labs, Blossom leads the runs [I swear, learning she had super powers took a long time to get used to.], and Sunset leads morale support. As for me, I just ask questions and give ideas.

"So, Blossom, you said you know Bell?" I asked.

"Yeah. She tried to destroy the world, and now, she has a military army."

"This all seems... odd to me. First CHS, and now we have a lab experiment with super powers? It just doesn't make sense..." Rainbow Dash said.

"I agree. This all doesn't add up. Why does Bell want us?" Sunset asked.

"Because you have us." Dexter said.

"But.. why? If all she wants is you, why is she giving us trouble?" I asked.

"If I know her, she just wants to prove herself. Maybe she thinks by killing you, she'll do that." Blossom said.

"First, we need to build this city up. We can't just keep struggling. That's how we fall." I said.

"Well, we need materials and more of a constitution crew. Who we have are good, but we need more builders." Rainbow Dash said.

"Yeah. Maybe we could use search for other survivors; maybe hire some recruiters to scout more people." I said.

"We'll look into it. We could also use more rations for the group. The Pop Tarts and chips won't do much good for much longer." Sunset said.

"We're getting closer to the Home Depot nearby. We could clean and claim it. Or we could take the 2 buildings away from it and then give it a shot." I said.

"Nah. I say we just go for the Home Depot. We need more food. What we have isn't enough anymore; others are going hungry and others are hogging the food." Rainbow said.

"What we should do is make them turn over at least a quarter of that food for the rest of the group. We can't just feed the workers because we need them. We can't..." I said to Rainbow.

"Yeah... you're right. I'll talk to the workers, it won't be easy, but it has to be done." Sunset said.

"Alright then. In the meantime, I'll give today's rations to who didn't eat for the past 4 days. Line people up." I said.

"Alright." Sunset went to the loudspeakers. "Everyone who didn't receive rations for the past 4 days, please approach the ration stands."

I can tell people were upset due to groans coming from outside.

As the food came in, I noticed a few more Walkers outside the walls.

"It's been 7 months since we discovered their joints rot up. Ever since, we've been pushin' on better." Applejack said.

"Yeah. Thank _God_ those walkers were there when they were. If it were runners Bell invited in, we wouldn't be here talking about food rations and scouting missions." I said.

"Eeup." Big Mac said as he walked in with the rations.

"I remember when we found him. Walking down the highway, blood all over him. We did the right thing pulling over." I said.

"Yeah. So now what about Megaville? We just leave 'em alone?" Applejack asked.

"What we should do is try to talk again." I said.

"After last time? No, I don't think so. She wants these two, they're have to kill us first." Rainbow said.

"I can't believe I am saying this, but Rainbow's right. We can't just sit here and hope they leave us alone. Don't think she _won't _kill you." Blossom said.

"Well, we'll try to set up a trade. Cleared areas for food. It could work." I said.

'How do we know they'll cooperate?" Dexter asked.

"All we can do is hope they say yes." Sunset said.

"Well so far hope's been non-existent for us. It was for Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom,... Flash." Fluttershy said.

"Fluttershy, stop it." Rarity said.

"Rarity, think about it. When has hope done _anything _for us?" Fluttershy asked.

"It saved me and Gary, it brought the two of us to CHS, and it brought us to this city with a 21-year-old mad scientist and a super powered college student. That's what hope's done for us. It might not have saved _everyone_, but it saved _us_. Plus out of all the people I knew, all of the people who are stronger, faster, and... _better_ than me, it saved _me_. Hope didn't abandon us, it just came in a different way than we expected." I said.

Apparently, what I said stopped Fluttershy in her tracks.

"Wanna switch places?" Sunset joked.

"Nah. You have people to console. One of them in this room." I said.

As I walked out, I noticed people around the library with their weapons.

"How come we don't get any food?" People from the mob cried.

"Listen, we're just running short on rations. I assure you, everyone will get food but we need to feed those who are getting weak from hunger too." I said trying to control the crowd.

The crowd kept on yelling and trying to get through. The only thing that stopped them was a gunshot from the back of the crowd to the sky.

"That's enough. You people earned your fair share. Now it's time for others to eat." Scootaloo said with her .22 in the air.

I then walked towards her.

"Thanks. That was quite a doozy." I said.

"Yeah. I'm thinking of doing a food run with Dash by the end of the week. We need more food, without it, more things like this'll happen. Fluttershy's thinking of taming wild chickens for food and the horses for supply runs." Scootaloo said.

"It could work. But I'm going with you." I said as I checked the library for any damage.

"Also, there's something I need to show you." Scootaloo said as she walked towards the gates.

"What is it?" I asked.

"You'll see, Kyle." Scootaloo said as she stepped out of the gates.

We kept on walking towards a building marked "Townsville Orphanage".

"This was your home, wasn't it?" I asked.

"Yeah. I just wanted to see what happened to the place when I left." Scootaloo said.

"Why did you leave? Did you get adopted?" I asked.

"...No. The Father, he was an abusive piece of crap that I hope is dead." Scootaloo said with her voice slightly cracking.

"Wait, you were _abused_?!" I exclaimed.

"Quiet. Yes. Every time I did bad on a test, ever-every time I brought a friend over, here came Frank with his boiling water and blades. I still have the scars..." Scootaloo said with her eyes clearly watering.

"Scootaloo... I'm-" I was interrupted by Scootaloo engaging me in an embrace and just sobbing.

"Hey, it's okay. We're all here." I said.

"That's just it. Rainbow Dash doesn't know this."

"What? Then, why did you tell me?" I asked.

"Because you're a good guy. Rainbow is too, but she can get out of hand sometimes. I know you've seen it."

"Yeah, I've seen her get short-tempered at times." I said remembering her despise my decision on bringing those guards in last month.

We then let go of each other and opened the door. The first thing that caught my eye was the shutdown notice.

**CLOSED **

"Looks like that sinner took his good work down with him..." Scootaloo muttered.

"So, you're Catholic then?" I asked.

"Yeah. I went to church whenever I could in the orphanage praying secretly for me to get away from Frank, away from the staff, away from it all. Not suicide, but a chance that I would be able to leave. I waited for a chance but, one night, Frank went too far. He slashed my back right as a friend walked by. He called 911 and Frank got arrested for child abuse and assault. Just as that monster deserved." Scootaloo said.

'Well, I'm glad you told me." I said.

"Me too. I finally got adopted by the Niwas and we moved to Canterlot." Scootaloo said.

"So, what do you need here?" I asked.

"Just a moment." Scootaloo then went through a cabinet and found a blade, picture, and a bucket.

"What are these?" I asked.

She then took the picture, placed it on the ground, filled the bucket with hot water, and carefully poured it on the picture of a man with the name 'Frank' on his nametag.

"Payback..." Scootaloo said. "And a good blade."


	6. Pain

As we were walking back, I decided to ask Scootaloo a question.

"Was that the same Frank?"

"Yeah. I decided since we had nothing else to do, we might as well burn that hellhole. Also I got this." She showed me the machete she found.

"Did he use that?" I asked.

"No. He had this knife in the other cabinet and he would give me a small but painful slash to the back. I still feel them..." She said.

"Well, your secret's safe with me." I said.

"It's not much of a _secret_, but I'd rather not scream it from the rooftops." She joked.

"Yeah, me neither. You know, my dad was an orphanage caretaker also." I said.

Scootaloo then looked at me dead serious.

"His name wasn't Frank was it?"

"No, no. His name was Henry. He was a good man, he died a year before all of this." I said

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking." She said.

Here it comes.

"A gang from down the road heard we had a hated neighbor as his adopted daughter so they came and... burned it down. He was getting whoever survived out as a piece of the upper floor came down on him. My mom came in arresting all 10 of the members in tears. He died saving those he loved most. Since then, I always hoped I would die the same way." I said.

"Well, _your _secret's safe with me." Scootaloo said.

"Thanks. That was the first time I told anyone since we moved." I said.

"I'm sorry. I barely remember my real father. Just his voice." She said to me.

Before I could say anything else, I bumped into a big gate.

Our gate.

"Ow. Just proves it works." I said as we walked in.

"Welcome back. How was the date?" Rainbow joked.

"It wasn't a date. I just needed to let off a little steam." Scootaloo corrected.

"Oh, my bad. Anyway, we saw a few survivors on the west side of the wall an hour ago. They're in the warehouse now. They said they wanted to see you." Rainbow said as she walked to the gates to close them.

"Alright." I responded as me and Scootaloo walked towards the warehouse we're using for new people to rest in.

I opened the gates and I saw 2 people in their 30s and they looked dead at me.

No. Not me.

"Mom? Dad?" Scootlaoo asked as she began to walk forwards.

"...Oh, my God." The woman- who I guess was her mom- ran forwards.

"When we tried to make it to CHS, they closed all of the roads and... we had to leave." The man- who was clearly her dad- tried to explain.

"No, it's okay. Where's Aunt Risa?" Scootaloo asked.

The mother then choked back a sob.

"We lost her a few hours ago to a few bandits." The father said.

"Well, I'm sorry. I'm Kyle, who are you?" I asked.

"I'm Daisuke, this is Riku. We're her parents. I guess you're her boyfriend." Daisuke said.

"Oh, no. Me and my bus driver arrived at CHS to find it boarded up along with a few buildings nearby. When it was attacked, me and her escaped along with 6 others. We found this city and we know who killed your sister." I said.

Riku quickly turned to me with eyes filled with pain and grief.

"Who?"

"They're part of a city called Megaville. If you have questions, ask Blossom or Dexter. They knew her before the Outbreaks." I told the two.

"Well, at least I know where to go." Riku said gravely as she poked the fire.

"The apartment building is just a few blocks away if you want. I know this isn't realy comfortable." I offered.

"Thank you. We could use that." Daisuke said.

"Sure thing. You look beaten up as it is. We have running water and electricity if you want to make yourselves at home." I said to them.

"Thanks. That's just what we need. Is there anything else we need to know?" Riku asked.

"No. I can't explain the rest." I said.

As the day went on, me and the others talked about Megaville.

"It doesn't add up. Why would Bell kill innocents?" Blossom asked.

"Weapons, maybe? How about information?" Rarity asked.

"Okay, we need to calm down and come up with a solution. We can't do this trade if this is going to happen." Sunset argued.

"Do we have much choice? Our food stocks are low as it is, and now we have 2 more mouths to feed?" Rainbow asked.

"Well, those 2 mouths are my parents. We need to work this out." Scootaloo said.

"What we could do is lead an attack. You know, destroy a side of the wall, let the Walkers and Runners in." Rainbow said.

"She's right. We can't expect them to be friendly forever." Rarity said.

"Yeah. Plus, Bell killed before the Outbreaks. Before the Runners." Blossom said.

"Okay, so she's bad, but how about the people? The guards said they were slaves. So, if we do this, we're going to be the monsters." I said.

"Alright, so we'll kill Bell in our next meeting then." Sunset said.

"I don't see why not. We can keep the deal going or we can rely on the farms and the cattle." Scootaloo said.

"Fine. But I'll have no part of it." I told the others.

"Killing isn't wrong in this world, Kyle. In fact, it's something you need to do." Rainbow said.

"Oh, what? Because nobody can stop us? We need this! And this place can't be a raid camp." I said.

"Why?" Rainbow asked.

"Because that's how all of them fall. Good people, bad people. Either way, people will come in and blast us to pieces. This place needs to be safe, to be human, it needs to be a **Sanctuary**."

Everyone in the room went silent.

"He's right. We can't be like that. Think of Terminus, think of Woodbury. Sure, they're fiction, but they fell for the same reason. The same reason we're looking towards." Sunset said.

"...Fine. Your funeral. We'll talk Bell into the deal." Rainbow said annoyed.

Time for the new world...


	7. Loss

Me and the others were arranging the meeting with Bell. We met near the end of the week.

"So, what is it this time?" Bell asked.

"I understand you people are self-substained. We know how to kill Walkers. So, here's the deal: We kill Walkers in specific areas, you give us food." I said.

"What's in it really for us?" Bell asked.

"More safe areas, less breaches, and less worries about water contamination." I told her.

"We'll think about it. And how about Dexter and Blossom?"

"We know who they are, we know who _you_ are. I know about your father, the bombs." I said.

"You know all about me and I know all about you. That doesn't matter now." Bell said.

"Well, what does matter?" I asked.

"Their surrender to me." Bell said.

"I'm sorry but that's not happening. We end them here." I said.

"Well, do say I didn't warn you." The doors closed shut and guards held me down.

"Hey, what is this?" I asked.

"We saw your cars go down the road to come here. Where's your camp?" Bell asked.

"I'm not saying." I said boldly.

Bell then pulled out a cleaver and placed it gently on my arm.

"Last chance. Where's your camp?!" She asked loudly.

"You might as well kill me! If you do, the others'll kill you. I know you can't kill me." I said.

What followed was an ocean of pain as the cleaver came crashing down on my hand.

"HOW ABOUT NOW?!" Bell exclaimed.

"...Screw you." I said faintly as my vison went blurry.

"Burn the wound. We need him alive." Bell said.

All I saw were the doors opening and voices loudly screaming.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?! OH, YOU'RE DEAD, YOU HEARD ME? DEAD!" Rainbow screamed.

Can't die... Can't... Die...

Everything went black.

I woke up in a laboratory with Scootaloo and the others looking at me.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You passed out. When we heard the screams we thought... Daisukie picked the lock and we saw your hand on the ground and a LOT of blood. We thought you wouldn't make it..." Scootaloo said.

"Well, glad I did." I looked at my arm to see it wrapped and bandaged.

"Good God, I look like Lee." I joked.

"How does it feel?" Dexter asked.

"Well, it hurts mostly. Also it feels like it's still there." I said trying to move my wrist and fingers.

"Yeah, it'll feel like that for a while. I'm building a prosthetic as we speak. But, it'll take a while." Dexter said.

"How do you know it'll fit?" I asked.

"I'm using your amputated arm as a template. I'm making it so you can send a blade from the front. You'll never be without a weapon again." Dexter claimed.

"Thanks." I said as I got up.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"4 days. We were really worried. Especially Scootaloo." Dexter said as he typed some coding to his computer.

"Well, now what?" I asked.

"We captured one of them. Rainbow's interrogating him right now." Fluttershy said.

Rainbow then walked through the door with her hands soaked in blood.

"What did you do?" Sunset asked.

"Had a little talk. He's alive, he says the group has a small opening through the east side. All we need to to do is use one of Dexter's EMPs to take out the turrets, blow up the wall, fire some shots, and the Walkers will do the rest." Rainbow said.

"We'll see. Remember, there're innocent people in those walls. We need to wait until they can join us. We need to distract Bell, go through the gates, and offer them to join us. Then we can kill Bell. It's the only way." I said.

"Fine. When can we do it?" Rainbow asked.

"As soon as that arm's ready. I'd rather have two arms instead of two." I said.

"Okay then. Me and Scootaloo are going on a run to Megaville to see this east side." Rainbow said as she grabbed her knife and rifle.

"Alright, that's the deal. As soon as that arm's ready, we'll invite Bell to talk about a truce, me and Sunset'll go to Megaville, offer anyone to join, and execute Bell." I planned.

"Alright. I think you're right with this. We need to be human and this is the only way." Sunset told me.

"How long will that arm take?" I asked.

"A few days at the least. I won't be working with military-grade materials here, but it'll work. I have enough for a water proof prototype, but if you want a more advanced prosthetic, I'm gonna need proper prosthetics. Maybe the military base?" Dexter thought.

"Maybe. We could use the food from the base. The city nearby looks nearly untouched. Maybe there could be food there." I said.

"It can wait. We need to talk to the prisoner first." Vinyl said.

"Let me see him." I said.

"You sure you can take it?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah. I've seen Walkers with no organs. How bad can the prisoner be?" I asked.

* * *

I walked into the barn to see the prisoner beaten and cut.

"Well then. Dash really went all out." I said.

"Are you gonna kill me?" The prisoner asked.

"No, I'm more bark than bite. Not like her." I grabbed a chair and sat down.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm Frank. You?" He asked.

"Wait, did you own the orphanage up the road?" I asked.

"Yes. Why?" He asked.

I got up and locked the door.

"Do you remember a girl named Scootaloo?" I asked.

"Yeah. Is she here?" Frank asked suddenly wary.

"Yes. I'll try to keep her away, but I won't be able to hide this forever." I said.

"Oh, let her in. I'm almost dead anyway." He said.

I called Scootaloo over.

"What is it-" She stopped as she saw his face.

I got ready to hold her back.

"Scootaloo. Just calm down. Take a seat. I'm gonna talk to him."

"No, no. Let me." She took my seat.

"So, how are you?" She asked calmly.

"Fine, considering." Frank said almost confused.

"Good." She leaped at him. "Trust me, if you think Rainbow was bad, just wait till I'm done!" She ran at him with me holding her back.

"Scootaloo, back off! Let me talk to him. We need him alive. He can be a bargaining chip." I said as Scootaloo kept charging at him.

"Fine. If you lay a _finger _on him, I'll take this matchette and slit your throat, do you hear me?!" Scootaloo screamed.

"Y-yes." Frank said petrified.

"Okay, Kyle. Talk." Scootaloo walked out the barn.

"Well, you heard her. Talk." I said warmly.

"Alright. Bell takes survivors by force and put them to work. Most of them were from the outside and the rest were military personnel." Frank said calming down.

"How about the others? If we were to go and offer them to join us, would they?" I asked

"Yeah. They'll burn that place if you wanted them to. They just want out." He said.

"How about the military?" I asked.

"Them too." Frank said.

"Okay then. I'll send Fluttershy to look at you. She's as close to a medic as we're ever gonna get." I said.

"We have a army combat medic who'll give anything to leave. He can be useful." Frank said.

"Thank you." I said as I left to get Fluttershy.


	8. Trouble

Me and Scootaloo were doing watch as I noticed a Walker hand through the wall.

"I got him." Scootaloo said as she grabbed her machete.

I saw as Scootaloo took a strike at the arm and the Walker falling to the ground.

"It's weird seeing how they die, you know? It's like they're human. But they're not." I said.

"Yeah. How's that arm doing?" Scootaloo asked.

"Fine. It feels like nothing happened, but then I look at it again and I see a stump." I said.

"Well, at least you're not dead. You should have _seen_ when Dash saw your arm... She almost killed Frank right there. Not that I would've cared." Scootaloo said.

"Yeah, I could imagine. How about the others?" I asked.

"They just stood there. Pinkie fainted with Rarity, Sunset burned your arm, and Dash got Frank. As for Fluttershy, she ran for the car and drove it up." Scootaloo said.

"Told you she saves lives. Anyway, looks like we need to thicken the walls a little bit." I said as I examined the tear through the wall.

"Yeah. Also, the greenhouses need more vegetable seeds and the guard tower needs more weapons." Scootaloo said as we walked to the construction crew.

"How about Frank? Is the barn okay for him?" I asked.

"Why do you care?" Scootaloo asked.

"Well, we need to bring him back. Maybe we could declare a truce, all depends on Frank's importance there." I said.

As we walked in, I noticed Big Mac was there.

"Hey, Mac. Are you the new recruit?" I asked him.

"Eeup. I decided to pull my weight 'round here. This is how." Big Mac said as he grabbed some wood.

"Well, the wall needs to be thickened a little bit. We got a breach a few minutes ago." I told him.

"Well, sure thing. Y'all have fun, now." Mac began chopping the wood as we left.

"Hey, the arm should almost be done. Come on, let's go see." Scootaloo invited me.

We went to the lab to see Dexter with a form of an exoskeleton.

"Dexter, I only asked for a hand. Not a full-on Advanced-Warfare-style exo suit." I said.

"Oh this is for me. Your arm's over there." Dexter pointed at a plastic mold of my hand.

I walked and put it on. "How does it work?" I asked.

"It's like your hand. It uses the nerve waves from your brain and turns it into electricity. Or in shorter words, it acts like a normal hand." Dexter explained.

I began to move it. It felt like my normal hand. Except for the blade thing on my knuckles.

"Oh, to use the knife, just imagine it was there, like Wolverine claws." Dexter instructed.

So that's what I did. I noticed how fast the blade stuck out. Like a hidden blade from Assassin's Creed or something like that.

"Nice. So, if I ever get into a jam, I could just use this?" I asked.

"Well, this is just a prototype. But yes. Also it can be used as a bite guard." Dexter said.

I saw how it was just metal rebars and wires.

"Really?"

"Well, the final version will be. Until then, this is all you have." Dexter said.

"I'll take it." I said as I switched the blade down.

"Alright then. Come on, Dash said she needed us." Scootaloo said as she walked out the door.

We went to the armory, A.K.A the abandoned house in the suburbs we claimed, and saw Dash sorting out some rifles.

"Dash, you said you wanted us?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yeah. It's about Frank." Dash said.

"He didn't make it, did he?" I asked.

"No. The bugger escaped! I went to tell him about the trade off, and this was all I found." Dash held a piece of paper saying

**I'm sorry.**

"What do you think it means?" I asked.

"Well, when we talked, he said he went to church everyday since his 2 year sentence was finished. He said he just... prayed all session for mercy. When I asked him why, he just broke down. He really regrets what he did to you." Dash said.

Scootaloo scoffed. "I'll believe _that _when I see it."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"I mean he's fooling you! He's trying to make you soft so he can escape easily. He did."

"Maybe. But until then, we need guards on all sides with heavy weaponry. If he's out there, we'll find him." I said as I grabbed my gun and paced to the door.

"Wait, wasn't that the plan? To let him go?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah, for a trade. If he makes it back, all hopes of a truce will be destroyed." I opened the door. "Make sure if he comes back, _don't. Kill. Him._" I said.

"Why?" Rainbow asked.

"I just said. A truce." I said.

"Kyle, there _is _no truce. Just war."

"Well, better safe than sorry. That's what my older sister said. After it happened, the fire, I mean." I said to her.

"Fire? What fire?"

I looked at Scootaloo.

"Kyle told me that his father owned an orphanage. A while before the zombies, the orphanage was burnt to the ground. His father died in that fire, along with most of Kyle's old friends."

Dash stood there in utter shock. So did the others.

"I never would've thought..." Dash said.

"Well, I think we need to give people a second chance. That's what I think the point of this place should be. A chance. A choice, no matter what you did, no matter who you hurt, no matter if it was to prove yourself to no-one but yourself. Even-even if we don't believe they _can_ come back! We need to _try_. Otherwise, we're just one of the doomed monsters of this world." I said without fear.

The others continued standing there until the door opened.

"Ah, Shining. Any good news?" I asked.

"Yeah. We found him in the woods. He said he was attacked by one of us. We couldn't hear because Fleetfoot knocked him unconscious." Shining said.

"Bring me to him." I said.

Scootaloo walked up.

"Just me this time. Sorry." I said as we walked out the door to see Frank.


	9. Life

I went to see Frank and saw him unconscious with his hands tied and head cracked slightly.

"What happened?" I asked Fleetfoot.

"I thought he was gonna make a move. So, I knocked him out, right place, wrong time, I guess."

"Well, at least he isn't dead. He might have gotten a concussion or worse." I said as I saw the crack up close.

"Yeah. At least he's alive." Shining said.

I saw as he regained consciousness.

"Hello?" I heard Frank faintly ask.

"Why did you try to escape?" I asked.

"W-what?" Frank asked me.

I turned to Shining.

"You tried to escape. You must have received memory loss from Fleetfoot knocking you unconscious."

"Really? All I remember was Rainbow Dash asking me some questions." Frank said to us.

I sank that in for a minute.

"Dash was the one who said you escaped." I said.

Frank quickly shuddered.

"Now I remember! Dash asked me the questions, then pulled a gun on me. Said "This is the only way to survive" or something like that."

I let that sink in also. Dash nearly killed him for nothing but "a way".

"Let me talk to her." I said as I walked out the door.

Me and Dash met in the library.

"What is it? Shining said it was urgent."

"Stay away from him." I told her.

"What?" Dash asked.

"Stay away from Frank. We know what happened. What _really _happened." I said.

"What happened?" Dash asked.

"You tried to kill Frank. Let me talk to him from now on." I said.

"...Fine. Have it your way." Dash said carelessly.

Later that day, I went to check on the wall development.

"How's that wall coming?" I asked.

"Great. We've finished the East and West sides. After these panels are up, we'll be done with the North side." Mac said as he hammered the panel in.

"Any new ideas?" I asked him.

"Well, Dash thinks we should use the corpses as walls, but we shut that down immediately. Also Dexter wants to add turrets on the wall, the jury's still out on that one." Mac told me as he added the final panel on.

"We need to keep an eye on her. She almost killed Frank and she's sounding more threatening as the days go by. If anything goes south, we'll have to exile her." I said as I took what Mac just said.

"Alright, then." Mac said to me as he helped with moving the panels.

Scootaloo walked towards me.

"You heard that?" I asked her.

"Yeah. As much as I hate Frank, killing him isn't the option. Now you got Dash wanting to add corpses to the walls. What's next? Smashing Cadence's baby's head with a rock if it's stillborn?"

"Speaking of which, how's she doing?" I asked.

"She's getting there. If we need to perform a C-section, Fluttershy's delivered a few animals at the shelter more than once." Scootaloo ensured.

"It's not that I'm talking about. I mean Rainbow." I told her.

"She didn't even let me in to talk to her. I think she's planning on leaving." Scootaloo told me.

We were interrupted by Shining calling me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's Rainbow, she's gone." Shining said.

I was shocked.

"Well, did she say anything?" I asked him.

"No. I went to check on her and she was gone, her window was open, and I found this." Shining held a peice of paper with the words

**TAKE CARE OF SCOOTALOO. THIS PLACE, YOUR DREAMS OF THIS WORLD ARE A LIE!**

"Wow... I never thought she'll actually leave..." I said as I read the note.

"So, now what?" Scootaloo asked me.

"We see to the city now. Keep building it up and over time, this place could be a safe-zone." I said.

"Well, we need a name if we're going in that direction." Scootaloo told me.

"We'll just call it what it is. Sanctuary." I dubbed.

"Alright. It seems pretty awesome. Sanctuary it is." Scootaloo officially announced.

We heard murmurs of agreement from Shining and the other guards.

"Well, now we need a police force. Shining," I called. "I want you to start it." I told him.

"But, why me?" Shining asked.

"Because you can. Now, I understand you have a child on the way, so we could wait on that. But for now, we start rebuilding this place." I said to the people.

I heard people cheering behind me.

"Well, it's settled then." Sunset said to me.

"Yeah. Where's Fluttershy?" I asked.

"...We didn't see her for a couple hours. Oh, no." Sunset ran for her apartment.

"What is it?" I followed her.

We ran to Fluttershy's room to hear crying-

Then glass shattering.

"Fluttershy?" I tried to open the door only to find it locked.

"Fluttershy, this isn't the way. Come on, Fluttershy. We need you, Shining needs you. Frank needs you." I called to her now using my knife to scrape the locks.

"Out of my way." Daisuke said as he picked the lock.

We rushed in to see Fluttershy covering her wrist now gushing blood.

"I'm sorry..." She said to us.

"It's okay. Come on." Sunset said taking her arm and pacing to the infirmary.

* * *

The next day, I listened to Sunset and Fluttershy talking from the other side of the door.

"Why did she try to do this? It doesn't add up." I said.

"At CHS, she lost someone. Someone who really mattered to her. His name was Discord, those two were like two peas in a pod. We found his corpse a few days after the outbreaks. It really must've gotten to 'er." Applejack said to me.

I stood there astounded.

"Well, let's hope she can move on from this. We need her right now- now more than ever." I said as I listened to the two talk.

"I understand you miss him, but you need to _let go_!" Sunset said to Fluttershy behind the doors.

"I tried. I can't. What do you want from me?!" Fluttershy cried.

"It's not what I want! Shining and Cadence need you for their child!" Sunset assured her.

"And if it's stillborn?" Fluttershy asked coldly.

"Well... Then we can work something out. Anything but suicide!" Sunset screamed.

We stood there thinking of what we were going to do next.

"We need Megaville's medic for this. Not a shelter volunteer." Vinyl said.

"No. We need a therapist. Someone who can get her through this. Sunset isn't enough." Daisuke said.

"Yeah. Maybe a grief counselor..." Rarity suggested.

I had an idea.

"Sunset. Let me in." I told her.

I heard the door creak open.

"What is it?" Sunset asked.

"I think I know what she needs." I told her as I came in.

"What?" Sunset asked.

"Someone who went through the same thing to talk to." I said to her.

Sunset slowly nodded and walked out the door.

"What's your excuse this time?" Fluttershy asked boldly.

"No excuses this time. About 2 years ago, my father and mother found a homeless teen in the alleys. We took her to my father's orphanage and after a few months, she opened up. Made friends with the other orphans, and became a form of a daughter to my parents. After they wanted to adopted her, she quickly accepted. Me and her became close in a matter of weeks. Then, the Dogs found out. They gathered a few of their gang members, formed a riot, and burned the orphanage to the ground. Lots of people died that day. Friends, family... Dad... I lost a lot of people in a matter of minutes. Then my mom almost lost it. Shot one of the gangsters dead and arrested the rest. It was just me, mom, and my sister ever since. Then she got a job in Scranton a few months later. Then it was mom, then Gary. Not you too, people are close with you. You have _friends, family_. Something I never had since that day. Don't do this. We need you."

"... Okay." Fluttershy said silently.


	10. Sanctuary

Me and Scootaloo were on our way to the walls as we noticed a small puddle of blood in Fluttershy's room door.

"I got it." I grabbed a rag and wiped it off.

"There's probably more in her room..." Scootaloo said.

"Yeah. We'll get it later." I said as I turned the "Do not disturb" sign and flipped it over.

"When did this happen?" Scootaloo asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"When did she get the depression to try suicide?" Scootaloo asked again.

"As far as I know, she lost someone named Discord and went spiraling to depression." I answered.

We went to the walls to see Mac and the others thickening the walls with cargo freights.

"We found the crane at the construction site and the freights at the port a few miles away." Mac told me.

"Kyle. We need you." Dexter called.

We went to Dexter's lab to see my hand. No, not my old one, Dexter's robot one.

"It's ready." Dexter said.

I removed my old hand and placed the new one on my arm. I noticed the difference immediately as my hand could move more cleanly than before. I pressed the button on it to see a 20-inch blade suddenly pop out.

"Wow. That's a big knife." I said astounded.

"As for Bell, how do we do this?" Blossom asked.

"Easy. One of us goes to Megaville when Bell's gone to see how they are. If they want to join us, they can and we'll kill her." Dexter said to us.

"As for the others who don't want to join us?" I asked.

"We'll see if they want to do the deal." Dexter proposed.

I had to act now. No more pushing this back, no more hesitating. Just doing this plan and winning.

"Alright. We'll go as soon as we help Fluttershy out." I said.

We had to wait a few hours for Fluttershy's counseling session to end. Fluttershy walked out slowly and tried to go to her room. I had to stop her.

"You might want to wait until the cleanup crew wipes it off. It's pretty brutal." I told her.

"There's a guest room at my apartment if she wants." Sunset offered.

Fluttershy slowly nodded and walked with Sunset.

"Tell Bell you and Rarity want to talk to her." I said.

"Alright." Dexter said.

"As for us, Blossom, Daisuke, and Rain-" I almost forgot she was gone. "...and Vinyl, you three go try to recruit some people from Megaville or keep the trade going." I said.

"How about you?" Daisuke asked.

"I'll stay here and help run things. Remember, Fluttershy's on suicide watch from her on out." I said to him.

"Got it. Oh, can I talk to you for a second? Alone?" Daisuke asked.

"Sure." We walked away from the others.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"I heard her laughing the other day. I can't be her adopted father and her best friend. She needs you. She needs you to show her the way. What way are you going to show her?" Daisuke asked.

I stood there for a moment and thought about this. What path _was_ I going to show her? How about the others?

"Dai! We need you to get ready!" Dexter called.

"Well, good luck." I told him.

"I was going to say the same thing." Daisuke said as he walked to the car.

I walked back to the library to see the others for a meeting.

"What do we do about Fluttershy? She tried to kill herself! How does someone heal from that?" Coop asked.

"I don't know. But she'll manage. How about Riku? She's dyin' to kill Bell but since we held 'er back from the run, how's that gonn' affect 'er?" Applejack asked.

"I'm not sure. Maybe it won't. Maybe this is the first and only case." I said as I took my seat.

"How do we know? Maybe this will happen again." Pinkie said.

We were interrupted by Sunset and Fluttershy walk in.

"Hey Fluttershy. Did you sleep okay?" Scootaloo asked.

She just sat down without response.

"She won't talk. It might be shock." Sunset concluded.

"Well, I hope you know we're always here." I told her.

"..."

We then heard a faint gunshot from the north.

They got her.

"Well, one down, one to go." Sunset said.

We talked to Fluttershy until we saw 3 cars and 1 bus drive in. We ran out to see who was with them. But what I saw was Blossom carrying Rarity with a bloody hole in her forehead.

Rarity was dead.

"Bell stabbed her in the head and we shot. The people agreed to the deal and these people wanted no part of Megaville." Dexter told me as people walked out.

I saw how many food crates was with them.

"First taste of the deal. Enough to last us months, now with this deal, we can co-exist." Dexter said as he placed crates on to the van.

"Wow. Now, we just need to help Fluttershy and nothing can stop us from building this place up." I said as we brought the people to their rooms.

"How about your sister?" Sunset asked me.

"We'll need to get some recruiters and in time, she'll show her face." I said calmly.

"How about my sisters?" Blossom asked.

"Ditto. They'll show up eventually." I said as we grabbed more food.

"He's right. Now, we need to build this place up." Dexter said.

"Alright." Blossom responded as she flew to the apartments.

"As for the term of leadership, we can manage a democracy as well as we used to. Until proven otherwise, we keep the counsel alive and running." I announced.

"How about Megaville?" A man from the bus asked.

"We'll stay in touch. We'll go weekly after we do our jobs. Weeks with no Walkers, we survive on our provisions. If we find hordes, we'll clear them out. _Anywhere, anytime_." I answered.

Well, time to rebuild.


	11. Second Year

I was sitting on the rooftop looking at the view of Sanctuary. Honestly, this has been the golden age for us. Megaville's still doing the trade, even a whole year later! Also the walls were finally finished with cargos 2 around and 2 up, rails for guards, and a burning pit for Walkers. We found a hydroelectric plant nearby and we had fun trying to operate it for almost 3 months before we got it to work.

"Ky! Are you up here?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yeah. I'll be down in a minute!" I called as I began walking down.

I walked into a dark room with all of the windows shut.

Wait a minute...

"SUPRISE!" About 9 voices called out as the lights flickered on.

"Well, happy birthday." Scootaloo said as she walked out.

"Now Scoots, I told you not to go into any trouble for a once-a-year event." I said.

"Well, we figured you needed it. 15 is a big day, trust me." She said.

I giggled and we kissed.

"Well, thanks." I said.

"Then there's nothing stopping us from digging in!" Vinyl said coming out with a plastic knife and holding a cake with the other.

We laughed and shared stories on before the outbreak.

"I was the head of the party committee in CHS." Pinkie shared.

"I helped around the animal shelter in Canterlot." Fluttershy said louder than she usually talked.

"I was the school D.J. Man, those were the days. They had some sick beats too..." Vinyl said.

"Rarity WAS the coustume designer, and Dash WAS the captain of literally EVERY team in CH." Sunset said.

"How about you?" I asked her.

"I just survived. You know about Equestria and I'm surprised you STILL aren't convinced it exists." She said to me.

"How about you, Ky? What did you do?" Scootaloo asked.

"Well, I just... survived. I was almost the weakest kid, my sister was always at work in another city, and I was the target for Joel. He was kind of like Rainbow by how popular they were." I said.

"As for me, Dash was practically my idol. I tried everything to be like her. Then I saw my only 2 friends get torn apart... Then you came through those gates, then everything else happened and now we're here eating cake on your 15th birthday." Scootaloo said.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that." I said as we started to clean up.

"It was Diamond for you too, huh?" She asked suddenly.

"What?" I asked.

"I know Diamond was talking about you back at CHS. Honestly, she can get on anyone's nerves." She said.

"But yet, she can win anyone in a second with a gold coin." I said as I placed the plate in the Walker fire.

"Why not you?" Scootaloo asked.

"Because I knew."

"Knew what?" She asked me.

"I knew that she was like the people I lived with. That she was dead the second the crap hit the fan. Or at least, would have been. But the wall was built just in time. If CH is gone and she's out there, she'll be doing her nails while Runners are tearing her little buddy apart, then it'll be her. But if CHS is still up and running, then things didn't change a bit." I answered.

"Yeah. Trust me, there's things about her that even I don't know." Scootaloo said.

We walked out to see the livestock from Megaville.

"How's it coming?" I asked Applejack.

"Well, Daisy's been runnin' dry, the chicken coop's been infested by mosquitos, and the cattle have been gettin' sick. As for the crops, they're doin' better than last week." Applejack said.

"We need Fluttershy again. Where is she?" I asked.

"Out with Mac- again." Sunset said.

"What? Jealous?" I joked.

"What? No!" Sunset said.

We were interrupted by the sound of a horse galloping.

"They're here." Scootaloo said.

We ran to the gates to see our dealer on horseback.

"How'd it go?" I asked.

"Good. We have the antibiotics you need for the cattle." He said.

"How's it on infestations?" I asked him.

"So far, so good. Except for some scouts not coming back."

"Maybe it was Walkers." I told him.

"Yeah, but it's been happening for WEEKS now. Unless the Walker population suddenly boomed, we could have hunters."

"We'll send some armed people on lookout. Thank you." I said as I grabbed the medicine.

"Sure thing." He rode back to the road.

"What do you think this means? Hunters? It could be Dash." Scootaloo said.

"Maybe. Or we could have an enemy camp watching us. Be ready for anything. And I mean ANYTHING." I said as Fluttershy came for the medicine.

"Got it." Shining said as he walked out with Gold Lily.

"How's she doing?" I asked.

"So far, so good. No accidents." Shining confirmed.

"I bet you miss Cadence." I said.

"Yeah. I bet she's in a better place now." Shining said.

We had a moment to remember when she went to Megaville and offered Shining to go.

"We should go visit soon. It's not like she's going anywhere." I told him.

"Yeah. Gold's birthday's coming up soon. I think we should go then." Shining said.

"Yeah. When is it?" I asked.

"The 4th."

"Well then, we'll give Megaville a call." I said as I went for the C.B.

"Megaville, we have a party coming up and we could use a party room." We were answered by static.

"Megaville, please respond." Still silence.

"Shining, get the car, Sunset, you're in charge until we get back. Fluttershy, you're coming with us." I said as we ran for the car.

"What's going on?" Fluttershy asked,

"I don't know. Maybe nothing but, rather safe than sorry." I said as Shining started the car.

We drove down the road to see the walls with a gaping hole where the gates were.

"No..." Shining said as he ran to the gates.

"Shining!" I ran towards him.

We ran to see corpses everywhere.

"No...No..." Shining saw a certain corpse.

"Shining, wait." I told him.

"Nonononono!" Shining started sobbing instantly.

"Shining! We have to go. Let's just... look for survivors and-" I was interrupted by Cadence getting up.

"Guys, I'm that last survivor."

"Cadence!" They hugged instantly.

"Jesus Christ, don't do that again..."

"I don't plan to." Cadence said.

"You're hurt." I noticed the gash on her head.

"I'll be fine. It's just from falling so hard."

"What happened?" I asked.

"You have to see it to beleive it." Cadence said.


	12. Kingdom

"A what?!" I asked Cadence.

"200 men... She said that was just a small portion of her soldiers. They'll tear right through this place..." Cadence said.

"Not if we don't negotiate. Sunset, Cadence, Scootaloo. You're coming with me along with a small armada to scout this "kingdom". Until we get back, all guards stay on post. We could have a war on our hands." I said as we readied the Humvee.

"And if you don't make it back?" Fluttershy asked.

"Then get ready to evacuate. If they attack us, we won't stand a chance." I said gravely as we hopped in the car.

We drove for almost an hour following Cadence's map all the way to a form of castle resort with fences and corpses surrounding it.

"Sure looks like it." I said.

We were welcomed by 50 men in riot gear running out with guns pointed at us.

"Whoa, whoa. Easy. We're friendly. We're from a city. North of here." I said to them.

"What do you want?" A guard asked.

"There was a city called Megaville. Your leader and 200 men came and destroyed it. We were in a trade route with them but since they're dead... We would like to speak to the person in charge." I told them.

A person close to my age then approached.

"Of course. I'm Len." The man said.

"Are you in charge?" I asked.

"No. I'll take you to her."

We walked through the gates and through the castle.

"This looks too much for over 200 soldiers." I said,

"They prefer Knights. We walled up 15 smaller towns down the road. This is our main base." Len said as we walked through room after room.

"When did you find this place?" I asked him.

"When all this went down. All we needed were the corpses and a good leader."

"Well, we would appreciate it if our people weren't in jeopardy of total destruction." I said.

"As long as you can give things here. It's not my call. We're here." Len turned to a form of a throne room.

"Sister. We have visitors." Len said in a high-class voice.

"Hello. My name's Kyle. This is Scootaloo, Sunset Shimmer, and Cadence. We're from a city, completely walled. We have food, water, and medicine. The three golden materials, right? Anyway, we were friends with the city you destroyed. We would like not to be threatened by... this." I said looking at the 50 Knights.

"... On one condition. You contribute, you survive."

"Alright. Mind telling us your name?" I asked.

"Rin. Rin Kagamine. You already met my brother."

"I'm glad we could work this out." I said as we turned around leaving.

We went to drive when Sunset asked me a question.

"Do you think it'll work?"

"It HAS to. Maybe we won't get anything or little in return, but we need to survive. This is how we-" I was interrupted by a hand grabbing my shoulder and pulling me.

"Hey! What is-"

"Don't think you you'll walk away. She won't give you ANYTHING but bloodshed. I'm Meiko. Take my advice. Leave your community and RUN. Run until she can't reach you. If you don't, people will die. She'll die." The girl pointed at Scootaloo.

"Whoever you are, we need to do this. We have people. Men, women, children. We can't fit them all on one highway. We can't leave, not now."

"Fine. At least take this," she handed me a C.B. "Channel 18; every noon at 3. I'll tell you our story."

We hopped in the Humvee and left through the gates.

"This is messed up. They DESTROYED Megaville! They'll destroy US!" Cadence said.

"We have no choice. We need to keep Sanctuary alive. Otherwise, Gold might not survive, Shining might not."

"Alright. But I'm keeping an eye on Rin whenever I can." Sunset said.

"Yeah. What was with that girl? Meiko, was it? She just warned us and took off?" Scootaloo asked.

"... Yeah. She told me she'll tell us through the C.B at noon, everyday, at 3. We'll find out what's going on." I said as we drove back.

Let's hope I'm right... We arrived at Sanctuary and saw a few guards standing there.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"You can't do this. She's... She's just messed up. She's EVIL. You don't know, but we can show you. We want to join."

"Sure. Just walk in." I said to them.

"Thank you. You don't know what you're getting into." The Knight said as he and his comrades ran in.

"We have a lot to think about." Scootaloo said to me.

"Yeah, we do. If things go south, we'll take our supplies, cars, and people and head for CHS." I said as I placed my Judge in my holster.

"Are you sure? Last time we were at CHS, it got attacked."

"By three bandits. Nothing they can't handle." I said to her.

"Maybe. But maybe it's gone. Just peices of walls and the school." Scootaloo said.

I put my hands on her shoulders.

"Hey don't even think about that now. Let's go get the new people set up." I said.

"Alright."

We walked to the apartment when we saw a certain person at the gates.

Oh, no.

"It's been a while. What do you want?" I asked.

"Our first deal. I never thought I'll see your faces again." Dash said with riot gear and an AK-47 strapped in her back.

"Well, what does she want? Weapons, food, medicine?"

"All of the above. A quarter of it all." Dash said.

"Alright. Fluttershy, can you get some of the antibiotics? Shining, same with the guns, and Sunset, get a quarter of the food." I ordered.

"You got it." Sunset said as people started walking to the supply rooms.

It was just me, Scootaloo, and Dash. Out of the three of us, Dash was the most loaded.

"So, I see you've changed." I told her.

"Thanks. So did you."

"Why did you leave? You could have stayed with us." Scootaloo said.

"I didn't think Kyle would make it with the way he ran things."

"And me? Was I just going to fade away too? How about the others, your FRIENDS? We built a LIFE here. You just have a rifle over your back, armor on you, and a jeep behind you."

"I'm sorry. But you've seen it. Kyle's weakness, his-his unawareness of the world arou-"

"I knew EXACTLY what was going on here. I still do. You left us, went to this "Kingdom", and came here to dry us out."

The others came out with wheelbarrows of supplies.

"Good. I'll be back next month for more." Dash said as she packed it in the back.

"Most people get a week." One of the Knights said.

"... I know." Dash said as she hopped in and drove down the road.


	13. New World

It's been a week since the trade. We've almost nearly recovered from our quarter trade.

"I never thought we could gain so much supplies this fast." Scootaloo said as she saw the supply counts.

"I know. But still, I can't beleive Rainbow is alive. And with them." I said.

"Well, let's be glad she didn't kill us." Sunset said.

"Who said she would have?" I asked.

"Yeah. You're probably right. But still, all this time, she was with her. It doesn't add up." Sunset said.

"Yeah. How about the others? Len seemed decent. Meiko told me this morning that Rin overthrown her father in an aggressive rage." I said.

"Yeah. That guy, he was a monster. More than her." Stan said.

"Do tell." I said.

"He was the kind of guy who pushed his family away and bossed everyone else around. One day, Rin tackled him out of a window with a black eye and a bruise on her arm. If Len didn't stop her, he would've been killed."

"So, he was abusive?" Scootaloo asked.

"As far as we know." Stan said.

"I want to talk to her. Hold a meeting. If we have a new trader, it might be best to know them. Especially if they have over 200 soldiers." I said.

"Alright. I'm coming along. I want to see her." Sunset said.

"Me too. If she was abused, I could help her." Scootaloo said.

We started driving to The Kingdom to talk to Rin. We found a food truck just standing there.

"Let's see what's in it." Sunset said.

"It could be a trap." I said.

We walked closer and knocked. We heard nothing but a loud bump.

"What?!" A familiar voice said.

"Dash, it's us." Scootaloo said.

She opened the door and saw us.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"We need to see Rin. Any chance you could bring us to her?" I asked.

She chuckled. "Good luck getting through her thick skull. All she does is think 'How will these people help us survive? Should we kill them and take their things or use them for their supplies?'. You were lucky you have buildings full of supplies or otherwise, she would've destroyed you."

"Sooo, you'll bring us to her?" I asked.

"Ugh, fine." Rainbow hopped out of a mattress and walked out.

We drove through the gates and parked.

"You should come back." I told Rainbow.

"Why?" Rainbow asked.

"Scoot really misses you. So does the others." I said.

"_Scoot_, huh? You two must've been getting _close_." Rainbow said with a smirk.

I didn't have time to say "Shut up" because we already were in the castle. We looked up and saw Rin.

"Hello again. We just wanna talk." I said to her.

"About what?" She asked.

"Just about stuff. Ourselves, our communities, this place. Just to catch up." I said.

"Fine. Len. We need a bigger table."

* * *

We sat at the table with biscuits and tea. Good God, this seems like the Renaissance.

"So, why the Renaissance vibe?" I asked.

"I just liked the time. It had it's downfalls but it had many uprisings." Rin said.

"How about you?" Len asked.

"I was driving home from school when my mom called. She said the gun," I placed my Judge on the table. "was on the table when the phone hung up. I was the last kid off. All I saw was my mom leap at me, the bus driver took the crowbar and done my mother in. We stayed in the basement for a year before learning about CHS being a safe-zone. They said only one of us could go in. Gary turned the other way and walked away. I stayed for 3 months before it got attacked by bandits. We drove to a city and stayed at a rooftop. Then we found a quarantine zone that turned hostile. We went to the other city and we walled it up and over time, people joined us. The zone's leader, Bell, cut my arm and killed one of our own. We managed to kill her but at a price. Now, here we are. Talking to Queen Rin." I explained.

"Funny. When this came in, I was being home-schooled. My dad picked up, said he was coming early. Before I could ask why, he hung up. The T.V flashed on and said something about a mutated Rabies strain hitting the country. We drove to my dad's summer home and walled it up. He lead this place with an iron fist and kicked out anyone who stood up to him. One day, he was in the middle of beating Len when I decided to fight back. He nearly killed me before Len pulled him off. I grabbed a spike and got his eye. I could've stopped there, but I saw red. I got his other eye and pulled him out the window. Everyone was terrified, but I didn't care. I took the crown and patched my dad up. You wouldn't want to see him as he is..." Rin said.

We realized it was noon and got up ready to leave.

"I don't think you're a bad person. I know bad people, and you aren't one of them. You're just forced to act like one." I said as I closed the door.

"As for you, Rainbow, I think you should come back with us." I said again.

"Kyle, I said this twice in a row. You won't make it in that city much longer. You know why? Because you're _weak_! You think you can keep her safe? Do you think you can keep _yourself_ safe?! You-"

"**_STOP ACTING LIKE YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!_**" I snapped.

She stumbled to the ground and I knew I went too far.

"Stop acting like you know the way, 'cause let me tell you something: You don't! We DID fight Bell, we DID keep Sanctuary safe, we DID help Fluttershy after she attempted suicide." I said to her.

"What? Fluttershy tried to kill... See? Like I said. Weak." Rainbow walked into the gates.

_Jerk. _I thought to myself.

We drove back to Sanctuary in one piece. Scootaloo was waiting for us.

"What did Dash say?" Scootaloo asked me.

"She said we were weak. That we couldn't hold ourselves together. That we weren't going to last much longer. We're going to prove her wrong. This trade will keep all of us alive. For now, and forever." I said to the other survivors.


	14. Beginning Of A New Era

We were stocking the food when we heard a call come out.

"Kyle, she's here."

We walked out to see Rainbow again.

"Alright, here're some painkillers, some anti-biotics." I said.

"What we need is weapons." Rainbow said.

I was shocked by that at first. Weapons? Why? I figured I don't ask.

"Alright then."

I went to the armory to gather some weapons. I came out with at least 10 bags of weapons.

"This was all spare. We have dozens of bags we don't use." I said.

"Nice. So, when did you and Scootaloo start dating?" Rainbow asked.

"A while ago. Around 2 months ago." I said.

"Well, glad you're taking care of her." Rainbow said.

"How about you?" Scootaloo asked.

"No, not yet."

"Well, good luck. With the weapons, I mean." I said.

"Thanks. How about-"

Frank walked out, then he noticed her.

"Ahem, Rainbow." He said.

"Frank."

"So, how're things?" He asked.

"Good, you?" Rainbow asked.

"Decent. As you can see, I'm free."

A Knight called for Rainbow.

"Goodbye." Rainbow said.

"See you in a few weeks." I said back.

Frank paced back to his apartment before I could talk to him.

"He's been distant ever since we started the trade. Something's up." I said.

"I'll talk to him." Scootaloo said.

"You sure?" I asked.

"We made up terms." Scootaloo assured.

"Alright." I said.

Scootaloo went to find Frank as I went to the roof for the C.B.

"Kyle, are you there?" Meiko asked.

"Yeah." I said.

"Okay, after her father got arrested, I saw Rin start to slip. From raids to kills." Meiko asked.

"Side effects, it's to be expected." I said to her.

"Yeah, but... She leads us with an iron fist, Kyle. You don't know _half _of it."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Did Dash tell you? There's a reason you found her in a 18-wheeler. She was kicked out by Rin." Meiko said.

"For what?" I asked.

"For dating the guy she liked. He was also kicked out. They just dangle by a string to The Kingdom."

"But, why?" I asked.

"Because that's her. You don't know what you're dealing with."

"Then I'll find out. We're coming back to see the others there." I said.

"Okay."

* * *

We were nearing the castle to talk to Rin.

"Again?" Rainbow asked.

"I know you got kicked out. I want to talk her into letting us take you in, if that's what you want." I said.

"What I want is Keito being safe. If you can do that, count me in." She said.

"Alright then. Where is he?" I asked.

"Right here." A man with blue hair said walking out of the shadows.

"You must be Keito." I said.

"Yeah. I hope you people can survive her." Rainbow said sternly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Before she could awnser, Len came walking out.

"Hey, Kyle! Please come in."

We walked in and took our seats. I noticed the flags. Two swords through a golden rose.

"The Fall before this had golden rose pedals fall near our house..." Rin said, suddenly not sounding so menacing.

"Yeah... The same thing happened at my old home..." I said.

"Well, here we are. Both sides just sitting and talking. But, that's not why you came is it?" Rin asked.

"No. We wish to bring two people back with us. Rainbow Dash and Keito. In exchange for anyone who wants to join." I said.

"You don't need to bring anyone. It's a deal. I hope you can control them." Rin said.

"Me too." I said, referencing Rainbow.

We hopped in the van and drove back home. The two were quiet the whole time. We entered Sanctuary and took them to the apartments.

"Feel free to make yourselves comfortable. The water's fine, the TVs still work." I said.

"You've been doing this the whole time?" Rainbow asked.

"Yeah. Now you're back, so don't worry about it." I said to her.

"Kyle! Scootaloo needs you for something!" Shining called.

I walked out to see Scootaloo trying to talk to Frank who won't even open the door.

"He didn't do anything did he?" I asked her.

"No. He won't answer the door and I thought you could try." Scootlaoo said.

"Sure. Rainbow's here if you want to go see her." I said.

"Of course!" Scootaloo walked towards her room.

I knocked on the door.

"Frank? It's me, Kyle. Open up." I said calmly, trying not to sound like a Nazi here to drag him to Aushwitz.

He opened and looked at me in fear.

"What?" I asked.

"You shouldn't have brought her back..." Frank said to me in a soft, fearful voice.

"Why?" I asked.

"You know what she did to us, to me."

"Scootaloo needs something to hold on to. I think Rainbow was the only option."

"Alright." Frank walked back to him room and closed the door.

I went to see Scootaloo with Rainbow.

"How are things?" I asked them.

"Good. You didn't tell me you guys had holidays again." Rainbow said.

"Yeah. It's been a while since Bell was killed." I said.

"Who's Bell?" Keito asked.

"It's a long story for later." I said to him.

"So, you're just letting us stay?" Rainbow asked.

"Of course. Like I said, you're one of us. Always." I said to her.

"Well, be ready. Because Rin plans to run you dry of supplies." Rainbow said.

"Why did you just need weapons that one day?" I asked her.

She opened her mouth to awnser, but an explosion silenced her and me.

I ran out to see a tank and a small army of 49 men and Rin in a bus.

"WE HAD AN AGREEMENT!" I called out.

"I lied. You are going to hand us all of your supplies, or you all die." She said to me.


	15. Bells Of War

We stood in shock and awe as a tank with a gunner on top and a small militia of 50 men were shown through a hole in our walls.

"It's not up to me! We have a counsel here. It's not my decision." I called out.

"I didn't say it was yours! Hand her over and we all can walk away." Rin said.

I was stunned to making a desicion. Turn Rainbow over and protect Sanctuary, or refuse and watch our hard work be destroyed.

"Give us some time! We need to put this under thought. 2 days at least!" I said.

"Very well." With that, Rin's army left our home.

* * *

It took about a day to fix the hole in the wall. It used up most of our resources, but we did it.

"Now what?" Vinyl asked.

"Do we just do the deal?" Fluttershy asked.

"We can't. She's one of us." Scootaloo said.

"We won't. Let's try to talk her out of it. Try to lure her away." I said.

"How do we do that?" Fluttershy asked.

"We fight back. Get the cars ready." I said.

"Wait!" Dexter called out.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Your arm needs to be recalibrated. I'll be right back." He said.

I took the arm off and saw the stump I never got used to.

"Almost forgot she cut it off." Rainbow said.

"Yeah. I still feel it. I moving my fingers right now." I said.

I heard a chuckle from her which meant my attempt of a joke worked.

"So, now what?" Rainbow asked.

"She wants you and our supplies or we all die." I told her before I could stop myself.

"What are you gonna do?" She asked.

"We're going back. With everything we have left." I said.

* * *

We were near the castle when we saw smoke. We went and saw a bloodbath. Guards had people cornered.

"GET DOWN!" I yelled.

With that, we started firing. About every guard was wiped out. We saw the civilians on the ground. I ran in and untied them.

"Thank you. We thought this rebellion was for nothing." The first one said.

"Wait, _rebellion_?" Rainbow asked.

"You know about it. You brought those guns here. After you left, Meiko took over as the leader. We decided to take the town."

"What?" I asked turning to Rainbow.

"It's... it's true. I was helping Meiko and the others take over when you guys came into the mix. I knew I had to join you so I could ask you guys to come here and help us win this. But it looks like you guys already did."

"Yeah." A man said in the back.

"So, now what?" I asked.

"We have Rin as prisoner for now. But we need to execute her." Meiko said.

"Or you could hand her over to us." I said.

"No. We need to kill her." Rainbow argued.

"Look, we need to hold a meeting later and see where everyone at Sanctuary and The Kingdom stands. If we all agree, we take Rin." I declared.

"Alright. 2 days, in the castle." Meiko agreed.

* * *

We went back where we saw the place completely untouched. I saw Scootaloo walk out.

"Oh, thank God." Scootaloo came running to me.

"We're fine. Everyone's fine. Rin was overthrown and placed under arrest. They're trying to execute her and we're trying to take her in. If anyone else agrees, step forward now." I said.

To my surprise, almost everyone walked up. Everyone except for Rainbow and Keito.

"I know it's hard, but we have to. Otherwise, who are we?" I asked.

"We know, it's just... fine. I trust you." Rainbow said.

"We _need _to, Rai- did you just say yes?" I asked in shock.

"Yeah. I thought about what you said about me not knowing what to do, and I realized something, I screwed up my life by leaving you. I should've been here for the war with Bell. But I just took off and didn't come back. You took care of Scootaloo, didn't you?"

"Yeah. She was too sad to speak to us for a few weeks. I finally decided to talk to her after a month of her being distant. That's when..." I trailed off.

"Thank you. You protected her in a way I couldn't: You showed her a way."

I then remembered what Daisuke told me about showing her the way.

"She also showed me the way. Back in CHS, she was pretty much my only friend. Yeah, I had you guys, but I just felt... different with her, like I was at home. But then we had to leave. I overheard little talks about me and Scootaloo and some new people asked downright if we were dating. Like Daisuke; he didn't even hesitate. Then- oh, am I monologuing again? Sorry, I can't help it." I said.

"It's fine. If he says we're keeping Rin, so be it." Rainbow said to the crowd.

"Then let's go save Rin and Len." I said to them.

* * *

We drove rove to The Kingdom to see a crowd cheering and a ear-piercing _slice _with a guillotine slamming to the ground.

We were too late.

I ran to the crowd and saw the worst. Rin was decapitated medieval-style. The crowd stopped all cheering when I became visible to them.

"You just had to wait." I said.

"We... We-" Meiko tried to say.

"**YOU JUST HAD TO WAIT!**" I screamed.

"We couldn't! It had to be done!"

"**YOU DIDN'T KNOW THAT!" **I said.

"Yes I did. So did you." Meiko said.

I calmed down almost immediately.

"Is Len alive, at least?" I asked.

"We don't know. He ran away as soon as we attacked. I'm sorry, we couldn't wait."

"Fine. Let's go guys." I said.

"But Rin..." Fluttershy said.

"Rin's dead." I said coldly.


	16. Cabin By The Sea

It's been 3 days since Rin's execution. For once, Sanctuary and The Kingdom were at peace. We kept the trade and Meiko became leader of The Kingdom. She says she had big plans for the place. As for the rest of us, we've set up a search for Len with the Kingdom's knowledge.

"If you want to risk your life, fine." Meiko said.

We went to as far as the other city before we had to turn back. We managed to beat the light by an hour. Scootaloo was waiting for us at the gates.

"Well?" She asked me.

"No luck. We're thinking of searching the piers. We haven't been down there yet. Hell, we've _never_ been there." I said back.

We stayed at Sanctuary for the night before thinking on where to head next. Before I could think of anything, Shining called me.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"It's about your sister." He said.

With that, I either expected he'd tell me she was dead, or she'd enter the room. But neither had happened.

"We looked at where she worked. She wasn't there, but we did find this note." Shining handed me a note.

In bold print, it said

**KYLE, I TRIED THE HOUSE, NO-ONE WAS THERE. I TRIED CHS, THEY SAID YOU LEFT DURING AN ATTACK. I FOUND PEOPLE NEAR A FARM. I WILL BE THERE.**

"Why didn't she sign it?" Shining asked.

"She never signs. I still know her writing. Thank you." I said to him.

"Of course. I hope you find Len." He said.

"I hope you find her." I said.

We got ready to search the pier when something happened with the car.

"What happened?" I asked Coop, our mechanic.

"It looks like a bad hose. We'll need a replacement before we can go looking." He said.

"Great. Now we need to do a search." Blossom said.

"Don't worry. All I need is a working car. We don't even need fuel for it." Coop said.

"What was the name of that mech you had? MEGAS, you said?" I asked him.

"Yep. From what I heard, it coulda saved a ton of lives."

"Yeah, it could've..." I said.

"I got the search." Blossom said as she flew out the walls.

"How you believe in that but not Equestria is beyond me." Sunset said.

"I didn't say that. I just don't wanna go. We persevered this place. We don't know if they fought something like this. For all we know, Equestria could kill us on sight." I said.

"Maybe..." Sunset said.

* * *

We waited for Blossom for the past 2 hours. Small problems had to be solved inside while she was gone. Debates, ration clogs, zombies, you know, typical things. We then saw Blosoom lifting, and I mean _lifting_, the car into the walls.

"Great. This'll do. Thanks Blossom." Coop said.

"Sure." Blossom said.

"So, we'll be able to search the pier?" I asked.

"Yeah. But you should stay here." Rainbow said.

"Is this about me being weak again?" I asked her.

"No, it's just- You've been like a guardian angel for Scootaloo. Something I could never be. She needs you here."

"Alright. I'll stay. But when you find him, _if_ you find him, let me know." I said handing her a C.B.

Me and Scootaloo were in the radio room keeping an eye for transmissions. It was a long day as usual; barely any radio chat at all, no ways of calling out for survivors. But finally, one call broke through.

"Calling all survivors, the stars have aligned, fear the wand, fear the stars, be afraid of them! Avoid the war, stay away from-" The broadcast fizzed back to static.

"What the hell was that?" Scootaloo asked.

"No clue. Try to raise him." I said to her.

She tried calling back to the stranger for an hour, but nothing was heard. We weren't able to keep trying because the C.B went off and Rainbow said it was urgent. So I drove down to the piers and saw Rainbow and a few others near a cabin on the beach. A light's in there, we need you down here with us." Rainbow said.

"Alright." I said to Rainbow.

I drove down to the beach and saw the cabin with the other people.

"You ready?" I asked Rainbow.

"Yeah. On three. One... Two..."

I raised my gun in preparation.

"THREE!" Rainbow slammed the door open and charged in.

What we saw next surprised us beyond belief. We didn't see Len on the bed, or in the cabin. Instead, what we saw was a blond figure near the front door with a pistol held to my head.

"Ooooh, myyy God..." I said as I realized who we saw in front of us.

* * *

We were waiting for Kyle and the others back at Sanctuary.

"Maybe they found him." Fluttershy said to me.

"Don't worry, Scootaloo. Kyle's probably holed up somewhere. If I know him, he's probably driving back right now." Mom assured me.

We weren't able to talk more because Kyle's car came driving in the gates with a van nearby. We ran down to see what was going on.

"Kyle, are you okay?" I asked him.

"Yeah. But we found something..." Kyle said.

"What?" Sunset asked.

"Bring her out." Kyle said to Dash.

Suddenly, the back of the van opened and she walked out with someone who we all thought was dead.

"Rin?" I asked.

"Yeah. She said her brother sacrificed himself for her." Kyle said to us.

"What do we do?" Applejack asked.

"We'll lock her in the police station for now. We don't say a word to the Kingdom. If they learn she's alive and here, who knows what could happen?" Kyle asked us.

"I'll take her there." I volunteered.

"Alright. Watch yourself." Kyle said.

"When don't I?" I asked him.


	17. Freedom Day

It's been a day since Rin was found. People had a hard time adjusting to her. Rainbow had easy time since she knew her, but other than her, me, and Scootaloo, others had barely any interaction with her. Some wanted her to stay in our warehouse.

"We can't trust her." Shining said.

"She destroyed Megaville, Kyle. MEGAVILLE!" Pinkie screamed.

"Stop it. If Kyle says she's staying, she's staying." Fluttershy said.

"I trust her. As many bad things that she did, she and I have a similar past. Maybe I can talk to her." Scootaloo said.

"She's right. If Kyle can trust her, why can't you?" Rainbow asked.

"If you all want to argue about her staying, fine. But count me out." Cadence said.

"Me too. This is your problem, not mine." Maud, Pinkie's sister, said.

"Well, we DID just find you. But Kyle, this is serious. She destroyed a massive, fully armed, completely militarized city. There were women and children in those walls, she killed them all." Sunset said.

"No, her people did. She didn't fire a shot." I said.

"So what? She still made that order. She could've killed my wife, Kyle. You know what that's like." Shining said.

Most people were stunned by Shining's response.

"Oh, God, Kyle. I'm-" Shining said.

"No, no, it's okay. This place is about saving lives, Shining. As many lives as we can by any means besides capture, you all know that. It's the only rule when your out there." I said.

"We know the rules; Never threaten, never steal, never harm." Shining recited.

"And as for those who did things before, we try to reform them. If we can't or they put us in danger, we send them packing." I said to everyone.

"When was that established?" Rainbow asked.

"After we killed Bell. Speaking of which, that's today." I said.

"What is?" Rainbow asked.

"Some people call it Freedom Day, others call it Rarity's memorial, and we call it Independence Day." Scootaloo said.

"Wow. I had no... wait, Rarity's MEMORIAL?" Rainbow asked.

"Yeah. She went out taking Bell out. Rarity stabbed Bell and her gun went off at Rarity's head. She died saving us." I said.

"I had no... When I didn't see her... I'm so sorry." Rainbow said to us.

"We managed to move on, but some people have to remember. We buried her and gave her a funeral. Since then, we thrived. We found more people, people from Megaville joined us, and over time, we built Sanctuary." I said.

"I... wish I was here for that. At The Kingdom, all we had was Rin and Len's Birthday. This seems way more cooler." Rainbow said.

"More than 20%?" I joked.

"Funny. So, when is it?" Rainbow asked.

"Now." I said.

* * *

This year's Freedom Day was much less exciting since Megaville was wiped out and we set terms with The Kingdom to leave each other alone. But I saw Rainbow and Keito walk around, so it was somewhat sweet. As for me, I went and did what I always did: Describe Sanctuary for the new recruits.

"So, if any of you didn't know, we founded this place 2 years ago. When I was 13, this plague hit. Me and my bus driver Gary finally came out of my basement and into the world a year later. We saw barely anything but Runners, but we were headed for Canterlot High, the school I always wanted to go to. After 2 months of it, I was assigned for guard duty. Since no-one listened to me when I screamed to turn around, we lost an entire side of the wall to 60 Runners. We were then attacked by bandits. Me, Rainbow Dash, Sunset Shimmer, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Vinyl Scratch ran for a bus and drove here. Although it's a relic now, we still have it up and running. We found this place after we were pushed back by Bell and her people. We then went to Townsville; this city. We were able to claim 5 buildings by ourselves, and when help arrived, we were able to claim more and more. After Bell took my hand, we were ready for war- Rainbow mostly. Now, last month, I claimed she was wrong about us from the start. That we were meant to survive in this world. I still believe that, but after The Kingdom and their destruction, we need to be careful outside these walls. As for Rin, we don't plan to kick her out. I plan for her to join us one day. Maybe not as soon as I think, but someday. I conclude this year's Freedom Day an announcement: I plan to launch a search mission for my sister later in the month. A note she left behind stated she was on a farm not far from here. I need a few volunteers for this mission. I choose Shining Armor, Daisuke, and Rin for this mission. If anyone else wants to volunteer, step forward now." I said.

As the crowd went silent, a hand went up.

"I'll do it." Scootaloo said.

"Scoot, you know what's out there." I said.

"I lost my sister, you helped me. What better way can I help than finding her for you?" Scootaloo asked.

"Alright. It's done. Good year and I hope we live for next year!" I said.

I heard cheers in the crowd as we walked into the apartment. I caught up with Scootaloo shortly after.

"Scootaloo!" I called out.

She stopped and I caught up.

"Thank you. No-one else would've stepped up for this." I said.

"Of course. With everything you did for me, how can I say thank you any other way?" Scootaloo asked.

"I don't know how." I said.

She giggled and we kissed. She went to her apartment and I went to mine. As I was walking, I decided to tell Rin about her request. I went to the warehouse which was being used as a prison. I went to the only cell and saw Rin barely doing anything.

"What is it?" Rin asked calmly.

"Listen. We need you for a mission of mine." I said.

"What mission?" She asked.

"My sister left us a note at where she used to work. It said she was on a farm with other people. I need you, Daisuke- Scootaloo's father, and Shining Armor to look for her. We're willing to trade your freedom in this community for your acceptance." I said.

"And if we don't find her? Or if she's dead?" Rin asked.

"You will either way. And when you do- and only then- we will release you. What do you say?" I asked.

Rin was clearly thinking about this. She showed signs of denial. I was afraid she would say no, then she looked at me and said

"Okay. When do we start?"


	18. The End Of Hope

I had nothing. No-one as a friend, just insults. But then _someone _finally looked my way; her name was Hatsune Miku. She accepted me as a friend and equal. But once she looked at Len, Rin lost it.

She ordered her death the day after. Once she died, I was alone again...

Then, her rule was ended by a city of survivors and a Resistance inside. She was dead and we were happy. But I was on a run to Sanctuary, and I saw _her_ walk out. I plan to follow them and kill her.

* * *

I saw as Scootaloo and Rin walked out the gates.

"Don't worry, Kyle. I know Scootaloo. She's not our birth child, but she has her mother's courage." Riku said.

"I know. It's just... I don't trust Rin. Do you?" I asked.

"Not as much as she does." Riku said.

"Yeah. I think she has potential. She was a leader of a _Kingdom. _If we can't use that-"

"Why do you trust everyone?" Riku asked me.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"When Rainbow left, Scootaloo shut down. No-one talked to her but you and three other people. So why did you talk to her that day?" Riku asked.

"Because I was able to relate to her. Back when I was at Crystal Prep, I was treated like crap all the time. You see, everyone there had something. Something that made them special, something that defined them. Me? I lost what defined me a long time ago. My dad, dead. My home, gone. I was nobody. But at CHS, I saw how she was treated. It was like she was _invisible._ If that's how nobody's were treated there, I wish I was there a long time ago." I said.

"Wow. You are _really _good at monolouging." Riku said.

"I know." I said.

* * *

I was with Scootaloo and the others looking for Kyle's sister.

"The local farms from here are Greenwood Farm and St. John Dairy. We should check St. John's first. It has a big field and an electric fence. If anyone has a camp, it's there." Daisuke said.

"I've seen the place before. It's gone." I said.

"So if anyone's set up here, it would be-"

* * *

I tried to raise Scootaloo, but all I got was static. I tried raising Daisuke, nothing. I started to worry after Rin didn't pick up.

"What if something happened?" Riku asked me.

"Don't worry. We'll send people out, we'll find her." I said.

Before I could say anything, a loud explosion was heard. I ran out and saw people- The Kingdom's people- with their guns raised and Shining, Daisuke, Rin, and _Scootaloo _hostage.

"KYLE! Come down here. We need to have a talk." A voice said.

I ran down and saw a person on top of a tank who looked like...

"Who are you?" I asked.

"My name is Yowane Haku, the leader of The Kingdom."

"What do you want with us?" I asked.

"Her." Yowane pointed at Rin with her gun.

"And if I say no?" I asked.

"Then they die." Yowane pointed at Daisuke and Scootaloo.

"How do I know you won't kill them anyway?" I asked.

"Why will I? Killing innocent people? That's low even for me." Yowane said.

"Kyle, do it. Trade me for them. Save your family." Rin said to me.

"Kyle, don't do it! She'll kill us anyway. Save Rin!" Scootaloo said.

"Kyle, Riku, I'm sorry." Daisuke said.

Then came the most amazing and heroic thing he's ever done. He got up and kicked a guard in the face, grabbed his gun, and blasted Yowane in the shoulder. But he was blasted by a still conscious Yowane.

"NOOO!" Scootaloo screamed.

"Now, choose. Rin or Scootaloo?" Yowane said.

Before I said a word, I heard a gunshot in the crowd. I turned around and saw Riku with tears streaming down her face.

Before Icould stop her, the tank came driving in and the walls came crumbling.

"RUN!" I said.

We all ran for the nearest building and opened fire. More vehicles came charging in from the walls. We were watching as more people came and destroyed the walls.

But that wasn't all they had in mind.

5 buses came in from behind and drifts around and opens. Over 50 Walkers and 20 Runners came out. We've dealt with bigger hordes before, but with our walls up to keep the rest out. We found that the zombies let out a type of hormone that just attracts more when something big comes their way. With this many around us, we knew more would come from further away.

Scootaloo.

I was about to run out when Rin came in.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"Yowane took her. I tried to get her, but I was attacked." Rin said.

"Which way?" I asked.

"You're not going alone." Rainbow said behind me.

"Alright. She went that way." Rin said.

We ran towards the tank and tried to find Shining. We found some rope on the ground and a gun from Daisuke's corpse. I took a moment and looked at him.

"Kyle, I'm sorry..." Rainbow said.

"He was like a father to me. I hope Scootaloo's alive. Let's go." I said.

We went to where Yowane took Scootaloo. We were confronted by Shining and Cadence with Gold Lily.

"Oh, thank God. I thought you guys were guards." Shining said.

"Where's Scootaloo?" I asked him.

"I don't know." Cadence said.

"There's a building up that way, an office building. We've secured it." I said.

"Okay. We'll see you there." Shining said.

We ran to find Yowane, but we saw Scootaloo's machette, it was there sheath and all. But something was wrong, it was covered in blood. We saw a trail and followed it. We ran to a room and saw a body with its head partially decapitated. I saw the hoodie- Scootaloo's hoodie.

The look on Rainbow's face said it all. She started breaking down at the sight. I saw a Walker and fired a shot, then another, then another. I kept shooting until Rainbow grabbed me from behind and I broke down.

"We gotta go. We need to get the others." Rainbow said to me.

We ran to the building and had a close encounter with a very familiar Runner. The corpse had bright purple hair, its face covered on blood, and a deep bite on the side of its arm.

Maud.

I stabbed it in the eye and looked. She'd only been here for a week and a half... But we saw more. Frank, Big Mac, and Keito were ready to charge at us.

"Keito..." Rainbow said.

"Rainbow... I'm sorry." I said.

"No, I'M sorry. I know her, that girl. When her friend liked Len, I was power crazy. I made him kill her." Rin said.

Then, Shining ran out with a small Runner eating his neck. He died a few seconds later and the small Runner looked at me.

It was Gold Lily.

I was about to shoot it, but then an arrow hit it.

"We need to leave." Sunset said behind us.

I turned around and saw Sunset with her hair messed up, her jacket torn, and her arm bandaged.

"She's right. The others are either gone or dead." Rainbow said.

"Let's go." I said with my voice cracking.

We took an armored car and drove out the wrecked gates. I told Sunset to stop so I could change the sign.

* * *

It's been a while, but I found it. I saw the smoke and read the sign.

**NO SANCTUARY**

I took off my hood and looked around more.

"Adagio!" My sister called.

"What, Sonata?" I asked her.

"It's gone, but those people we saw might not be. Come on." Sonata said.

"Sonata, he's not here. Let's head back." I said.

Sonata sighed and pulled out her C.B.

"Cole, we're heading back. Tell Ali to get ready to open the gates." Sonata ordered.

"Sure thing. And Starswirl's doing fine." Cole said.


	19. Aftermath

It was the four of us on the road. Kyle and Rainbow were just stuck. We took turns on watch when we found a place. It's been a week since Sanctuary was destroyed. Kyle and Rainbow were on a run while we defended the place we found- a small gun store.

"How do you think he's doing?" Sunset asked me.

"Not good. I don't blame him." I said.

We found a Walker and shot it silently.

"It was my fault..." I said.

"Don't say that. You didn't kill Scootaloo. Yowane did." Sunset said.

"You don't understand. I didn't just kill her friend, I killed her people. She was one of them, I just couldn't tell." I said to Sunset.

"Well, you don't need to worry about that anymore..." Sunset said.

* * *

Me and Rainbow were looking for supplies. We found a place called Anderson's Mini-Mart.

"I'm sorry about Keito. I didn't know him long, but I could see that he was a good guy." I said.

What I got was a look from Rainbow, a look I never saw from her- sadness.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up." I said.

"No, it's okay. I was on my own for a while. I was almost dead. Thirst, exposure... He was sent on a scavenging run, but found me instead. He brought me back, and over time, we became close. How about you?" Rainbow asked.

"When you left, Scootaloo entered something, some kind of depression. She usually stayed away from people. Daisuke told me to talk to her one day, said I might be able to get into her head. I saw her on the roof, just looking. I was able to talk to her, I told her people were worried about her, that I was." I said.

"Then?" Rainbow asked.

"Then she kissed me. Just on the cheek, but I had no idea what to say. I told Daisuke a day later, all he said was 'This is a good thing, something we never get, enjoy it'. A week later, I talked to Scootaloo and she just-" I was interrupted by a gunshot near my leg.

"HANDS!" A voice called from a rooftop.

I rose my hands and turned to the voice and saw someone fully covered with riot gear and a motorcycle helmet.

"Now, put everything you have on the ground, your guns, your backpacks, and that machete. All of it! Ten seconds. Ten, nine..."

"We need to make a run for the car." I said.

"No, I think I can get up there." Rainbow said.

"Five, four..." The stranger said.

"Rainbow, go." I said as I pulled my Judge and fired at the stranger.

The stranger shot an assault rifle at me and I hid behind some sandbags. Rainbow showed up on the rooftop and the stranger was gone. As I was ready to move, I heard closer gunshots. I peeked and saw the stranger a few inches away from me. The stranger was reloading as I came out and shot her stomach.

"Rainbow! It's safe." I called out.

She came down and saw the stranger.

"Is she dead?" Rainbow asked.

"No. She's unconsious for now." I said.

I went and took off the visor and saw someone I hoped to never see again. Someone I thought would be dead out here.

Diamond Tiara.

* * *

Me and Sunset saw someone with a car and decided to take him in for now.

"Thank you. Me and my friend were having a bad day lately. It's good to see good people for a change, you know?" The stranger asked.

"I'm Rin, this is Sunset." I said.

"Well, I won't be here for long. I need to meet my friend at the house down there." Joel said.

"Is it alright if we join you? I'll leave a note for our people." I said.

"How many of you are out there?" Joel asked.

"Two." Sunset said.

* * *

We were carrying Diamond to the house that said "BASE" on the door. We carried her in, looking for booby traps. We walked in and saw loads of guns, MREs, grenades, jugs and bottles of water, and cans of food.

"Woah..." Rainbow said.

"Looks like she's been busy. The cot." I said to set her down.

We set her down gently on the cot.

"We should get the others here." Rainbow said.

"Go. I got her." I said.

Rainbow left and I looked around the place. I saw signs of dogs, fences, and a big sign saying

**DOGS GOT SILVER SPOON.**

I was struck with shock and grief. I turned to her, stricken with what I saw.

"I'm sorry this happened to you... Beleive me, I know what this feels like." I said to her.

I looked around and saw a rifle. One marked with "CHS" on it. I looked if the scope was accurate and checked it for ammo. I heard a clang from the cot, I turned and saw nothing. But then, I turned again and saw Diamond charging at me with a knife. I shoved her back.

"Do you know who I am? Do you see who I am?!" I asked her.

"People wearing dogs and dead people's faces!" Diamond screamed.

"You know me." I said.

"No, I don't know you!" She said.

"You DO know me."

"I DONT KNOW YOU!" Diamond tackled me and held her knife at my head.

"Look at me, Diamond. You know me." I said pushing the knife back.

"You're not one of us... You turn... You. Just. DIE!" Diamond screamed.

"YOU KNOW ME!" I screamed.

"I DON'T KNOW ANYONE ANYMORE!" Diamond screamed as she pushed the knife down.

I moved my head away and slipped out. I brought out my knife arm and held it at her. After a minute, I dropped it.

"You know me... My name is Kyle Williams, you know me. I'm not wearing a dog or a dead man's face." I said to her.

"Please," She pointed at my gun. "Just kill me..."

* * *

We were following Joel to where his base was. We were stopped by seeing bullet cases on the ground.

"Did this just happen?" I asked.

"It must have. We might be fine. Maybe she shot some Walkers." Joel said.

"Who?" Sunset asked.

"My friend. The only other one at my camp. I was an escapee from an enemy camp."

"Where?" I asked.

"A high school. I'll tell you when we get there." Joel said.

* * *

"Kill me... Please." Diamond begged.

"I don't think that's what's supposed to happen. I think you're supposed to come with us." I said to her.

"No. It's not. I know you... Kyle, the one at the walls when..." Diamond said trying to remember.

"Yeah, that's me. We both started out at the same place. Things went bad for both of us, before and after. I know what this..." I pointed at Diamond's writing and pictures. "...feels like. I lost my father and 20 of my childhood friends to them. The Dogs... I know what it feels like, but you need to let that go and come back. You can still come back from this... I know it. This can't be it." I said.

We were then interrupted by my people walking in.

"Kyle?" Sunset asked.

"Diamond?!" Rin asked.

"R... Rin? God, I... I know you, I know who you are. Where's... Where's Dad?" Diamond asked.

"He's gone. I tried to save him, but... I was too late." Rin lied.

I get why she lied. It's better than "I cut his eyes out and threw him in a cage to rot like a dog". But who came in next encouraged me to raise my gun and brain both of them.

"Joel?" I asked trying to stay calm.

"Who... Oh, my God. Kyle."

"You two KNOW each other?" Sunset asked.

"Look, I... I cant describe what I did, what I wanted to do. But I'm sorry. Believe me, I am." Joel said.

I looked at him for a solid minute. Then, something was talking in my head.

"_Kill... him... He hurt you... Beat you... Several times... They all did..._"

I was to horrified and awestruck to move.

* * *

I saw Kyle standing there, looking in shock in awe.

"Kyle? Kyle! Snap out of it!" Rainbow said gently slapping his head.

He then started moving again.

"One, OW! Two, did you hear that?" Kyle asked us.

"Heard what?" Sunset asked.

"That... It doesn't matter. Joel, what are you doing here?" Kyle asked.

"Listen, Crystal Prep has become a warzone. Worse than anything out there. Someone is in charge, someone with some kind of mind control. Once she gets you, it's over. I managed to deny it and get out. Diamond was the first person I met out here. She let me stay here ever since."

"Who, Cinch?" Kyle asked suddenly.

"No. Worse." Joel said.

"Who can be worse than CINCH?" Kyle asked disgusted.

Sunset and Rainbow were listening to Kyle with shock and confusion on their faces.

"What's her name?" Kyle asked.

"She has some name for herself: Hell. You see her, you run. Don't hesitate to kill her. They won't." Joel said.

"Look, we're looking for a farm. Any ones that are close." Kyle said.

"We were planning to go to a town. The signs and the broadcast said it was safe." Joel said.

"What's it called?" I asked.

"We looked for a 'Sanctuary', but it's gone." Joel said.

"We're from there. Kyle was in charge of our counsel." Sunset said.

Joel looked in shock and confusion at Kyle.

"It's true. We were attacked by a psychopath with a tank. People died, MY people. My friends, family, girlfriend..." Kyle said.

"Wow... I'm sorry, I had no idea." Joel said.

"It's okay. Keep talking." Kyle said.

"We found signs for a town, Our Town. We're trying for there." Joel said.

"We can look ahead. Tell you what we saw. I'll need a radio." Kyle said.

Joel dug through a crate until he saw a pair of radios.

"Where did you get all of this?" I asked.

"The bad people. Dogs, scavengers, or Hell's soldiers." Diamond said.

"They must be loaded..." Rainbow said.

"They are. They have walls, too. They have a hotel nearby for soldiers." Joel said.

"And people?" Kyle asked.

"There are no _people_. They all have something to give. All of them..." Joel said dazing off.

"Anyway, we could look ahead. See if it's safe." Kyle said.

* * *

I told Joel we could look ahead for him.

"Thank you. Tell us when you find it. Invite us when you know it's safe." Joel said.

"We will." I said as I took the radio out of his hands.

"You should stay for the night. It's dark out and you should rest." Joel said.

"Thank you." I said as I headed to the roof.

I dug into my pocket and pulled out that hairclip I found when I woke up a while before the zombies. I noticed it looked like 3 shurikens infused together. Only it was plastic and it was kinda dull. I tried looking for the owner, but then the zombies came. I finally placed it back in my pocket and came inside for a rest.

But I shouldn't have...

My dream was of my days at Crystal Prep before the zombies. Just sitting on a bench after class trying to give flyers of some gym near the area. But during, the teachers, students, even the PRINCIPLE hated me. The teachers let some kids beat me, the students, well, beat me, and the principle blackmails me to not tell of what happened during school. My good break was when I met Twilight.

She was the only person I called a friend for a whole year. But after the Friendship Games, she just... left and never saw her again.

The night after, I saw the hairclip on my lap. But what was different was the fact that the outside had a _mountain_ of corpses and guard posts with turrets at the end...


	20. Signs

We spent the night at Diamond and Joel's base. Rin said I started talking in his sleep about Crystal Prep. She heard "Not again...", "Stay away...", and "You're not yourself...", which makes it worse. We were packing up some gear Joel gave us when Rin told me about a place called Greenwood Farm.

"Let's do this first. Then we'll look at Greenwood." I told her.

We were out and in a car from Joel by noon.

"So, your dad was the owner of an orphanage?" Sunset asked.

"Yeah. Williams Orphanage." I said.

"I heard about that. The Wiliiams Fire. It was on the news a year before the zombies." Rainbow said.

"It was that gang, The Dogs, which burned our home. They wanted my sister, claimed she owes them." I said.

"What was her name?" Rin asked.

Before I could answer, Sunset stopped the car and saw a sign. I looked at it. It said

**_OUR WORLD, OUR HOME, OUR TOWN. LIVE IN EQUALITY AND PEACE._**

It also had a map pinned to it leading to a small town about 10 miles from here.

"This is it. It looks like it's that old town." I said.

"I thought that place was abandoned." Rainbow said.

"Well, we'll have to see when we get there." I said.

When we turned to get in the car, we saw a HORDE of Walkers behind us.

"Come on, we need to go." I said.

"But, the car..." Sunset said.

"There's no time." I said as the Walkers started walking past the car and to us.

We ran for about 5 minutes until we were sure that herd was out of our sight.

"What now?" Rin asked panting from exhaustion.

"We need a place for the night." I said seeing that we were losing the light.

"There's a radio tower not far from here." Rainbow said pointing to a close antenna.

"Alright. Let's go." I said to the others.

We jogged for the radio tower and saw that it was fortified with timber around the fences and no fractures.

"What's this?" Rin asked.

"We'll have to see." I said as we opened the gate and went inside.

Inside, we saw over 10 cans of Spam, 7 bottles of water, and 9 rifles on the ground.

"Whoa. Who left this place?" Sunset asked.

"No-one. Look at this stuff; no dust at all. This is someone's stash..." I said.

"Maybe they were overrun by that herd we saw." Sunset said.

"Maybe, maybe not. Until then, we should look for places nearby." I said.

Me and Rainbow went on ahead to look for a place for the night. We saw a small building with a flat roof.

"You never said that you went to Crystal Prep." Rainbow said.

"Well, I didn't think it mattered in the end. In fact, I was dying to put that behind me." I said.

We went inside the building and saw one Walker eating a fresh corpse. Rainbow pulled out her knife and killed the Walker.

"I got the body." I said.

I pulled out my knife arm and stabbed it in the head.

"So... you and Joel knew each other?" Rainbow asked.

"...Yeah. Not on good terms." I said.

"Well, it looks like he's changed now." Rainbow said to me.

"Yeah, that's what I don't get..." I said.

We made it up to the roof and saw a pile of bodies; some of them fresh.

"I guess we know where those guys went..." Rainbow said.

"Yeah, we do. Let's head back, it's getting dark." I said noticing the sunset.

We started walking back when Rainbow said she saw a figure in the shadows.

"It was probably a stalker, or worse... Come on, let's head back; keep your head on a swivel." I said.

"Alright... You never talked about her since we left. Why?" Rainbow asked.

I stopped and turned to her.

"Would you?" I simply asked.

"Yeah, I want to." Rainbow said.

"Okay, so talk." I said to her.

Rainbow sat on a stump and let out a sigh.

"I was wrong... When I said you were weak. I learned the hard way. I was thinking of either killing myself or heading back. I was stupid to leave you guys like that..." Rainbow said.

"You wanted to save your own skin. I forgive you for leaving; I get it." I said.

"My first days at the Kingdom, I told her about your city. Rin said you would've died, but when I saw you and the others again... I ruined my life there. I got cocky, and I got thrown out. I was lucky I saw you when I did." Rainbow said.

"Well, I-" I was interrupted by a gunshot near the radio tower.

We ran back and saw... YOWANE with 5 of her people.

This was her base.

I grabbed my Judge and moved in. Sadly, it didn't work and I was whacked. I felt a large pain in my head and I got up to see Yowane with a gun to my head.

"Drop your weapons, NOW." Yowane said.

Knowing better than to shoot, I dropped my gun and knife. I then saw one of her men break the door down and pushed Rin and Sunset out.

"Now, which one of you should I kill first? Hmmm." I saw her think about this.

"Rainbow, you gave me this. I don't wanna kill you- yet. Sunset, I barely know you. Kyle, I may of lied about killing your girl, but I won't kill you."

I felt a fire inside of me. She killed Scootaloo, Daisuke, Shining, and others. Then, that voice appeared again.

"_You need to kill her... If you don't-_" I silenced the voice.

"Now, Rin. You killed my only friend, my people, and your own father. As much as I'm _dying _to kill you, I think I should let my men get a little _payback_. Do your worst!" Yowane said.

Before I could say a word, one of her men started pinning Rin to the ground. Yowane looked shocked for a moment, but then glared at me.

"You hesitated. You don't need to do this!" I said to her.

"No, you're wrong! I need to do this, to show you who you screwed with. First, they'll rape Rin, then they'll kill her, then Sunset, then Rainbow. You, however... Our people would _love _to watch you _burn_." Yowane cackled.

I looked back at Rin and saw she was successfully pined to the ground. I then turned at Rainbow who was being beaten by the other man. I heard the voice again.

"_Don't let them do this. You know what to do. Do it._"

"_NO. There's another way._" I said inside my head.

Now Rainbow was pinned and Rin was being attacked. I saw as Sunset was being pinned. I got up and tried to reach them, but Yowane held me back.

"First, we'll get Rin, then we'll get the others..." She got disturbingly close to my ear. "..._Then you._" She whispered evilly in my ear.

Realizing what was happening, I head-butted her to get out. My vision was blurred long enough for Yowane to draw my gun at me. Before I could react, I heard a familiar voice.

"Yowane!" Meiko ran up and saw what was happening.

Before she or Yowane could react, I took my knife arm and slit Yowane's throat. Blood was poured over my shirt and Yowane was gagging for air. She crumbled to the ground and I grabbed my gun. I shot the man on Rin first, then Rainbow's. The man on Sunset got up and pulled out his rifle on me. Then, out of nowhere, a gunshot behind me went off. I turned around to see Meiko with a gun and a horrified expression on her face.

"What happened?" Meiko asked.

I drew my gun and fought like hell not to shoot.

"Your people did _this_. They destroyed a city full of innocents, killed Scootaloo, and now tried to rape and kill us. You showed us who you are." I said.

"I didn't do this." Meiko said.

"Go. Go back to the Kingdom and make sure we don't see you again." I said.

I noticed Yowane was alive and I finished the job. I stabbed her head with my bloodied knife arm. I turned around and Meiko was gone. I looked back at the others.

"Are you okay?" I asked faintly.

Rin nodded her head.

"Yeah." Rainbow said wiping blood off her mouth.

"What just happened?" Sunset asked.

"Help me dispose of these bodies." I said picking Yowane up.

Rainbow got up and helped me with Yowane and placed her in a pile with the other men. I poured gasoline on their bodies and lit up the pile.

"Come on, let's head inside." I said.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Well, another chapter done. I am putting the story on Hiatus due to Season 5 and Friendship Games. I will be working on it again when I had a chance to watch the movie- which probably won't be for a while...


	21. Porkbelly

Memories. Memories are the most painful thing to remember now... It's been an hour since Yowane came back. I never killed someome like that before. I coudn't sleep after that. I was watching the fence, which was surrounded with Walkers. There was about 7 of them around me, but I didn't give a damn. I stayed there with her blood still on my hands. I heard the door open and shut and Rin taking a seat next to me.

"Couldn't sleep either?" I asked.

"...No." She said.

We stayed silent for another minute until I said

"Back at Diamond and Joel's base, you both called him dad."

"We're twin sisters. Well... half-sisters. My father's name was Filthy Rich. His wife, Spoiled Rich, was Diamond's mother. One night, my dad cheated on her for some maid of his and... well... me and Len were created. One kid, Spoiled could've handled, but _two... _Spoiled treated us like freaks. Kept us away from Diamond, from the outside world, and from her. We lived in one side of the mansion and were taught there" She said.

That moment was when I realized we had more in common than I thought.

"What?" Rin asked me.

"I know how you feel. At Crystal Prep, I was treated like an outcast. I was isolated most of the time because of the teachers. I soon realized that was because they wanted to beat the hell outta me anytime they wanted. Sometimes students joined in. I saw one of the teachers, Mr. Sombra, look at me once. I could tell he wanted to help, but he couldn't." I said.

"Kyle-" Rin started.

"No. I need to let it out. One day, I brought a knife into school. I was on the roof, looking down thinking on jumping, when some of the students found me up there. After a few kicks, I pulled it out. They jumped back thinking I was gonna shank them, but I tossed it at them, and I said, 'Do what Cinch wants you to do.', and I looked away and took a seat. I heard a door open and footsteps getting quieter. After the day was over, well... the world ended, the zombie apocalypse. I went home planning to talk to her, but guess who the first. Zombie. I saw. Was?" I asked.

"Kyle. The door's still open." Rin said.

Before I could look, I got engaged in a death hug by Sunset. Rainbow joined in and Rin went last. We stayed there for a while until I think I fell asleep.

* * *

After I woke up, the Walkers were dead and I was inside with the others. Rainbow was packing when she saw me awake.

"I thought you'd never wake up." She said handing me a warm can of Hash.

"My favorite." I joked as I started eating.

"You're lucky we wiped your face, or you'd be tasting blood now." Sunset said.

I kept eating, ignoring the fact that I was asleep.

"Where should we go?" Rin asked.

"There's a city close to Our Town- Porkbelly. It might have supplies." Rin said.

"Or people." Sunset asked.

"If that, then it's dangerous." I said.

The rest stayed silent for a few minutes until Rin looked up.

"No. That doesn't mean it." She said.

"Rin..." I started saying.

"There are still good people, Kyle. Meiko's one of them. She wasn't involved in the attack, and she certainly wasn't involved in... well..."

I took that in for a minute. The way Yowane said that I was last... it haunts me.

"Alright. Later, we go to this 'Porkbelly'..." I chuckled at that name. "...Then Our Town." I said.

* * *

We drove up to the city and, as we figured, it was completely overrun with Walkers and a few Runners.

"Ever notice that we don't call them zombies anymore?" Sunset asked.

We stood there.

"Yeah, I noticed." I said.

"It's just so weird, you know? If this didn't happen, I'd be watching The Walking Dead or something right now." Sunset said.

"I'd be training some newbees in the gym." Rainbow said.

"I'd be getting beat by Spoiled for being alive." Rin said.

"I'd be dead." I said.

We stayed silent as we drove into the city. We saw about 20 Walkers- 20 _Zombies..._ near a corner store.

"We should take them out." Rainbow said.

"Alright. Silently!" I whispered.

We jumped out and slashed them. We went to the rooftops in order to not be seen. I took binoculars and looked around. I saw a small house in the distance with lights on.

"I see something!" I said.

Rainbow grabbed her binoculars and looked with me. She saw it and told the others.

"We go on foot. A car'll alert them." I said.

We grabbed a big plank and used it to travel across the gaps between the rooftops. We kept moving until we found a rooftop that was too high for the plank.

"We go on the ground from here. Be careful, all of you." I said.

After we went to ground level, we saw about 50 Zombies looking dead at us!

"It's okay. They're slow." I said as we picked up our paces.

We made it about a mile closer to the house. Now we had to lose this horde.

"We gotta lose these zombies." I said.

"How? We don't have enough ammo." Sunset said.

"Rainbow, go lure them away. I'll go with you. The rest of you, go for a building nearby until we get back." I said.

We seperated and got the horde focused on us. Rainbow was banging her baseball bat against the concrete, trying to get their attention. I took a silenced pistol I got from Joel's arsonel and fired at the horde. We kept doing this until we were near the outside of the city. We snuck back into the building and found the others.

"Let's go." I said.

We saw neighborhood where the house is. We were now in front of the windows. We crawled past them to avoid detection. We were now in front of the door.

"Now what?" Rainbow whispered.

"We just... knock, I guess." Sunset whispered back.

"...Alright." I said walking up the porch.

I knocked.

"Hello? I saw your lights. We don't mean any trouble. We're trying to get to a town. It's walled, safe." I said.

What happened next was the door blasted open and some kid with flame hair- I'm not kidding, his hair resembled a fire- with a shotgun pointed at me.

"Who are you?" I asked.

He didn't say a word, but he noticed that I had others with me.

"You should come in." The kid said walking inside.

We walked in and saw that it was just any other suburban house. I noticed that the room downstairs had a light from inside.

"That's my sister's lab. I should call her up. My name's Johnny." Johnny said.

"I'm Kyle." I said.

"SUSAN! WE GOT VISITORS!" Johnny suddenly shouted.

Someone downstairs came running up with some form of weapon.

"You let them in?!" She asked.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Listen, we don't mean any trouble. We just need a place to rest, then we'll go back on track." I said.

"On track to where?" Susan asked lowering that contraption.

"Our Town. It was said to be fortified, people inside." I said.

"We have others with us. Two more people. Wait until they come back, and we'll do a vote." Susan said.

"You can take the living room until then." Johnny said.

"Thank you." Rin said as we started moving.

"I'm releived. I was starting to think I was the last male on earth." I joked.

* * *

We stayed in the living room. Rin was looking for something, Rainbow was doing push-ups, Sunset was looking in Susan's lab. I was sharpening Scootaloo's machete on the couch.

"That's a cool blade." Johnny said.

"Thanks." I said.

We stayed silent for a few more seconds until Johnny looked at me.

"Where'd you get it?"

I then remembered seeing her corpse... No head, no life...

"I got it from a friend's corpse..." I said brutally.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry."

"It's okay. There's nothing you could do. I'm just glad I have this to remind me of her..." I said.

We waited a few more hours until I heard the door open.

"Susan? Test? We're back." A female, scratchy voice asked.

"They're downstairs with one of our group." I said.

"Aaand who are you?" The girl asked.

"I'm Kyle. This is Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer. The one downstairs, Rin, is with your group." I said.

"Alright. I'm Sissy, by the way." Sissy said as she walked away.

"Is it me, or do we sound _exactly _alike?" Rainbow asked.

"...Yeah, you do actually." Sunset said.

"Let's go get Rin." I said.

* * *

I was nearing the place where I heard people talking about: Our Town. He has to be there... He has to.

"If he's not at Sanctuary, he has to be there." I told my sister.

"Let's just worry about Our Town for now." Adagio told me.

I saw the fences and a cabin nearby. I told Adagio to go inside the walls and I go into the cabin.

"Alright. Tell Ali and Cole what you find." Adagio said.

I grabbed my silenced rifle and walked up. I saw a light on and I heard a voice.

"...What was the kid's name again? Kyle somethin'?"

Oh CRAP!

I waited until he came out to make my move. I grabbed my knife and grabbed him.

"Push that button and you get this knife to your throat. Drop your weapons." I said.

He dropped the weapon and I asked him about Kyle.

"He's not here. We're trying to find him, but no luck. All we found was some old man who said he was with him in the early days. He's not exactly around anymore, though..." The man said.

"Stay here." I said.

I grabbed his radio and changed the channel.

"Twilight? It's me. He's around here. Move in." I said.


	22. Our Town

I was getting closer to the place the guard said he saw Kyle last. Is he really alive, after all this time? Don't get your hopes up, Twilight. You never know what could happen next. I was near the radio station where I saw over 5 people with rifles holding... oh my God. I was about to sprint out when I realized that I only had my katana and they were 5 people with rifles. I saw Rainbow and... Kyle run up! Kyle had more scraggy hair and a silver arm, but he was still the same. Kyle snuck up behind a girl with white hair before being whacked in the back of the head. I took the microphone and tried to listen.

"...Our people would love to watch you _burn_!" The woman with white hair said.

I watched as Sunset, Rainbow, and some blond girl I've never seen were pinned to the ground and started to get their shirts unbuttoned. I held my katana planning my strikes.

"First, we'll get Rin, then we'll get the others..." She got disturbingly close to his ear. "..._Then you._" I heard silently.

I was about to lunge when Kyle head-butted her and he had a gun drew on him! I saw a red-headed girl walk up. What Kyle did next still haunts me. A blade came out of his hand and he shoved it _in _the white-haired girl's throat. I looked in shock as he shot the 5 other men. One drew a gun on him, but the red-head shot him. I stammered to the microphone and listened.

"Your people did _this_. They destroyed a city full of innocents, killed Scootaloo, and now tried to rape and kill us. You showed us who you are." He said.

"I didn't do this." Meiko said.

"Go. Go back to the Kingdom and make sure we don't see you again." I said.

He must've noticed the girl was alive because he stabbed her in the head. As he did it, the red-head ran as fast as she could- towards me. I tackled her to the ground.

"Who are you? Who was that girl out there? SPEAK, GODDAMNIT!" I said holding my katana to her neck.

"I'm Meiko. That girl was Yowane." Meiko said calmly.

"I'm Twilight." I said as I put away my sword.

"Look, if you think I'm responsible for-"

"Come with me. I plan to catch up with him later." I said.

I smelled smoke and I turned back. I saw Kyle drag Yowane and push her into the fire.

"I'll see you soon, Kyle..." I said.

* * *

Sunset was getting the fuel while I was catching up with Rin about her family.

"She'd come in after a while, and..." Rin started.

"It's okay. You don't have to say anymore. I'm sorry..." I said.

"It's okay. I'm gonna get this stupid dress off." Rin said walking upstairs.

Rainbow came and sat next to me.

"You two are getting along." Rainbow said.

"Well, I DID save her life..." I said.

"Haha." Rainbow said.

"...Did you know Yowane before Sanctuary?" I asked.

"Yeah. She was a nobody there. She turned into a monster... After what she planned to do to you... Yowane died a long time ago." Rainbow said getting up.

I was looking at a picture me and Scootaloo took during our dating time. I still remember those days...

* * *

_"Kyle! Come here, please." Riku called out._

_I came down to her room when she told me about Scootaloo._

_"She's been gone a while, and I have no idea what to do." Riku said._

_"Where's Daisuke?" I asked._

_"Right here." Daisuke said panting for breath as he ran for the door._

_"Hey." I said._

_"I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't listen. Maybe... you could get through to her?" Daisuke asked._

_"Where is she?" I asked._

_"Up on the rooftop." Daisuke said._

_"I'll see what I can do." I said._

_I ran up and saw her on a chair looking down on the city._

_"You thinking on jumping?" I asked._

_"...No." Scootaloo said._

_I took a seat next to her._

_"People are worried about you." I said._

_Scootaloo scoffed._

_"Who?" She asked._

_"Your father, your mother, Fluttershy, Sunset, ME. I miss you." I said._

_Scootaloo stayed silent for several seconds until she leaped on me and held me in an embrace._

_"Hey... It's okay." I said._

_I heard Scootaloo sob-and I mean SOB. She held me tighter as she sobbed. I soon felt some tears swell out of me. I started holding tighter until I felt... something on my cheek._

_Did she just kiss me?_

_"I... I-"_

_"You don't have to say anything yet. Just think on it." Scootaloo said as she walked back downstairs._

* * *

"-Kyle? Kyle! We're ready to go!" Rainbow said.

"Sorry, sorry. It was just some memories." I said.

"We'll talk in the car." Rainbow said.

We hopped in and drove down the highway to Our Town. Sunset drove while following the map.

"Were you thinking about Scootaloo?" Rainbow asked.

"...Yeah." I said.

"I don't know what happened. But please understand that I am sorry." Rainbow said.

We pulled up to the road of Our Town.

"We go on foot from here." I said.

"Why?" Sunset asked.

"We should see them, before they see us." I said.

"Okay." Rainbow said.

We split up into groups. Me, Rin, and Rainbow while Johnny, Susan, Sissy, and Sunset went together. I looked ahead and saw fences- big ones.

"This is it." I said.

We saw as people came out and were slaughtering zombies with silenced gunfire.

"They must have a lot of ammo." Rin said.

"So did you." I said.

"...Yeah, we did." Rin replied.

We kept looking and saw several more people came out- all wearing an equal sign on their right arm.

"That looks unpromising." Rainbow said.

"Maybe it's a cult or something." I said.

"Whatever it is, it doesn't make them bad people, Kyle." Rin said.

"It doesn't, but it adds some questions to the table." I said.

We looked a few more minutes until Rin asked me

"What's up with that Joel guy and you?"

I stayed silent for a few seconds.

"He beat me. Everyone of them. Student and teacher. Except for..." I started.

"Except for who?" Rainbow asked.

"_Except for Twilight._" I whispered.

I could tell Rainbow was shocked.

"When I was a freshman, she talked to me. Eventually, we got along. But then me and my mom went to see some family in the country. When we got back..." I said.

"Kyle..."

"...And that was the perfect opportunity for them to start beating the SHIT out of me anytime they wanted. And then..." I said.

"Kyle. Twilight joined CHS." Rainbow said.

* * *

Me and Meiko went back to the cabin with Sonata.

"She tried to do _**WHAT?!**_" Sonata asked Meiko holding against a wall.

"She tried to rape him, but he stopped it." Meiko said.

"How?" Sonata asked.

"He stabbed her throat. Then he burned her corpse." I said.

Sonata was clearly shocked by this and she let Meiko go.

"Where did he say he was going?" Sonata asked.

"I didn't hear much, but I heard on guy say Our Town."

"Oh, crap. That's where that guy..." Sonata started.

"Twi..."

"You got it." I told Sonata.

I took the rifle that guy had and I found some fireworks in a bag.

"I got this." I said.

* * *

We regrouped, walked through the gates and went inside a building.

"Our Town. Our world..." A girl on a radio turned around and saw us.

"Hello." I said.

Another girl walked up.

"You here to rob us?"

"No. We heard about this place and we wanted to join you. I'm Kyle." I said.

The girl walked up and held her hand out.

"I'm Starlight Glimmer. Welcome to Our Town."

We went to one of the houses they said were ours.

"You think this'll work?" Rin asked.

"It has to." Sunset said.

Then, a megaphone went off.

"Attention all new survivors. Please join us in the Town Hall."

"Well, that's us." I said.

We went down to se what it was. We went in and the first thing I saw was a gun to my face.

"Drop your weapons, and we all go away alive." Starlight said.

We dropped our weapons.

"The machete too. Do it!" Starlight said shoving the gun in my face.

_Sorry, Scoots._

I dropped the machete and tossed it on the ground.

"See that house down there? Get in, all of you. Now!" Starlight said.

I went first, then Rainbow, Rin, Johnny, Susan, Sissy, then Sunset. We walked in and the door slammed behind us. It was dark, but I saw 5 other people inside.

"You must be our roommates." A man joked.

"You come near them, and I kill you, with or without weapons." I said.

"I didn't mean it like that. I'm Cole. This is my girl, Alice. This is Frosty and Kat." Cole said.

"Well, they're gonna regret locking us in here." I said.

"How?" Alice asked.

I pulled out my knife arm and showed it to them.

"Oh..." Frosty said.


	23. Escape

Sunset was looking for guards to come to our cabin, Rainbow was using a pocket watch to grind off a shiv from the wood, Alice was using the curtain rod as a baton, Cole used a brass knuckle made by the hair clip I had, Frosty was using a table leg, and I was using my knife arm.

"You all know what to do. You kill 'em, any way you can." I said.

"What if we can't kill them by our weapons?" Kat asked.

"You knock them out, and smash their heads in." I said grimly.

"We don't have to." Rin said.

"They locked us in here, Rin. We HAVE to." I said.

"But what if instead of killing them, we threaten them. Force them to let us go." Rin said.

"That could work... this WILL." Rainbow said.

Rainbow ripped off the shiv and started using a belt to make some weapon for Sunset.

"Heads up, we got two of them coming." Sunset said.

"We need to be careful. We don't know of there're more." I said as I pulled my knife arm out.

"Put your arms on your back, and get to each end of the cabin, NOW!" Someone cried from the other side of the door.

I pulled out my knife arm and told the others to get behind me. The door opened slightly and an object went in.

A flashbang.

"MOVE!" Cole cried.

We all placed our weapons under the curtan and we ran back. The bomb went off and I felt something grab me. I was pulled out and thrown on the ground. When the flashbang wore off, I saw Starlight grab me and place a ziptie on my hands. I was dragged to a platform with seven other people.

Guards were there with knifes.

I was placed on a bench with the other people. Starlight walked up with a record book in hand.

"Okay. So, Kyle... Decker?"

"Yep." A guard said.

Starlight grabbed a C.B and said the name.

"Kill them." A deep, distorted voice said.

One guard grabbed the man, one had the knife. The first guard pushed the man _into _the blade. They moved to the next.

"Kyle... Welles?"

"Kill him."

Same thing.

"Kyle... hang on." Starlight pulled out a knife and held it to me.

"You said your name is Kyle. Now... what's your last name?"

I didn't say a word.

"Tell me, or I kill you."

"...Williams. Kyle Williams." I said.

Starlight grabbed the C.B.

"Kyle Williams?"

"You have him."

The guards quickly grabbed me and killed the rest.

"Load him up, every one of them." Starlight said.

Before we could make a move, BOOM!

* * *

I was traveling through the forest and I saw fences and someone being pulled out of a cabin.

Kyle...

I saw as he was brought into a room and I knew I didn't have much time. I saw some zombies on the left side of the fence. I grabbed my rifle and aimed for a gas tank nearby. I grabbed the firework and lit it up.

Boom.

* * *

I opened my eyes and saw Starlight telling the two guards to watch me.

"Stay here until I know what's happening!"

When the doors closed, I shanked one of them and held the other one at his throat.

"Where's the armory? TALK!" I said.

"Next room!" The guard said.

I pushed him away and went for it. I opened the door and found multiple weapons. I scurried through and grabbed my machete and Judge. I found an M16 and grabbed it. I grabbed pistols for the others and I went to grab them.

* * *

I went in and snuck past a horde. I started taking our guards and looking for Kyle. I saw someone shoot some guards with a M16. I saw a zombie behind him so I went up and killed it. I quickly grabbed the barrel and pointed it away.

"Easy! I'm not them." I said.

"Who are you?" The guy asked.

"I'm Twilight. You?"

He took off the hood and I saw...

"Twi'?"

* * *

I couldn't move, I couldn't speak. Here, in front of me, was the one out of three people who I missed from before. I quickly held her in an embrace. We stayed until I remembered the others.

"We gotta go." I said.

"Alright." Twilight said.

I ran up and swung the door open.

"FIGHT FOR THE GATES!" I screamed.

The others scrambled into action. They grabbed their weapons and we all ran out. Twilight grabbed her katana and swung at a runner behind her. I shot several zombies in front of us, Rainbow stabbed a zombie in the throat and took its knife, and Cole was punching a zombie rapidly.

"Twilight?! Trixie sent you?" Cole asked.

"No." Twilight said.

"There's no time! We gotta get out of here." I said.

"Go! Go! Go!" Rainbow said.

We fought our way out and we ran for the woods.

"Wow. That was..." Rainbow panted.

"Kyle... It's really you?" Twilight said.

"I was about to ask the same thing." I said.

"You two know each other?" Kat asked.

"He was my only friend before." Twilight recapped holding me in an embrace.

"Yeah, I was." I said silently, holding the embrace.

* * *

I was telling Joel about Our Town.

"Wow... I didn't think that they were... Doesn't matter, all that matters is Diamond's getting BETTER."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"She's not talking gibberish anymore. She still insists we attack the Dogs' camp." Joel said.

"She knows where they are?" I asked quickly.

"Yeah. A cave up in the mountains. Hell, the ONLY cave up in the mountains." Joel said.

"We're heading for a farm: Greenwood. You'll see it on a map." I said.

"I found it. We'll be there." Joel said.

I signed off and went to join the others back in the radio tower. Cole and his people grabbed the food in Our Town and we were having a dinner. They were bonding well.

"Wait, wait, so what happened next?" Alice asked Rainbow.

"What happened next was she jumped out of nowhere and screamed 'SUPRISE!" Rainbow said dying laughing.

"Man, this Pinkie of yours sounds like a nutcase." Frosty said.

"Yep, she was..." Sunset said depressed.

I noticed that she was distant.

"You alright?" I asked her.

She didn't respond.

"...I saw the attack. I saw what they almost did..." Twilight said.

I turned to her.

"Did you see what _I _did?" I asked her.

"...Yes. But I saw what she almost did to you, I heard it." Twilight said holding up her megaphone.

"Oh." I replied.

"Look, I don't know what happened before I showed up, but were you from a... 'Sanctuary'?" Twilight asked.

I looked up.

"Yeah. Me and Sunset helped run the place." I said.

"Not Rainbow?" Twilight asked.

"We can catch up when we get back, Twi." Cole said.

"Yeah, maybe... I gotta step out for a minute." Twilight said getting up.

* * *

I went outside and raised Sonata.

"Sonata? We found him." I said cheerfully.

"Is it really him?" Sonata asked with her voice cracking.

"Yeah. We're at the radio station we were at earlier. How's that prisoner?" I asked.

"We had to kill him. He tried to kill Star Swirl... Adagio was on him before I could stop her." Sonata said.

"Well, what would YOU do if your adopted infant son was attacked?" I asked.

"I don't know." Sonata said.

I heard Cole call out.

"Hey, Twi'! You comin'?!"

"I gotta go. I'll tell Kyle that you're alive.' I said.

"No. Let's keep it a surprise." Sonata said.


	24. Greenwood

After we slept, we woke up to go to Twilight's camp.

"What do we do if this doesn't work out?" Rainbow asked.

"Easy. We go to Greenwood." I said.

"What if this place _is _Greenwood?" Johnny asked.

"We stay. If we think it won't work, we'll MAKE it work." I said.

Rainbow then went up to Cole.

"So, this camp..."

"Yeah?" Cole asked.

"Has anyone died there?" I asked.

"No. Not in a long time." Alice said.

"How?" I asked.

"Well, we barely ever go out, the crops give us the food we needed, and we have a good, strong leader." Frosty said.

"Who is your leader?" Sunset asked.

"You'll see when you get there." Twilight said.

We stayed silent until we found the RV they took, surrounded by zombies.

"Crap... now what?" Twilight asked.

"We can ask camp to come send transport." Cole said.

"No, you KNOW what she'll say to that. She hates people dying, but we can find a way." Kat said.

"How about one of the cars from Our Town? It has to have at least one laying around." Susan said.

"No, that's too risky. I guess we have to walk back. We're just three miles away. We'll make it in time for breakfast." Cole joked.

I nodded and we started walking towards their camp. We saw a crossing when Rainbow came up to me.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Yeah." I simply said.

"It's been a week since Sanctuary went down. And a day since Yowane."

"I know." I said.

Twilight walked up to the side of me.

"She's with us, you know. Meiko." She said.

I was silent as a few zombies were gathering up behind us. Sunset turned back and saw them build up.

"We can take them." She said.

"No. We just fought like hell to get out of Our Town. No need to fight like hell against a few Walkers." I said.

"...I can take them." Sunset said.

"Sunset... you know that's a bad idea." I told her.

We kept walking past an abandoned house full of blood and nearly burnt to the ground. I saw a skeleton with the eyes still inside. I turned away and saw the zombies behind us. It had about 20 zombies in it now.

"We can't have that building up. If we bring that back to camp..." Cole started saying.

"They walk, we run. We can get ahead of them. Besides, it's just twenty." Rainbow said.

"You always this pragmatic?" Frosty asked.

"Pretty much." I said.

We kept moving until we saw a sign saying

**GREENWOOD FARM: 1 MILE**

"We're close..." Cole said.

As soon as Cole said that, I knew that they were from there. I picked up my pace and the others followed.

"Hey, where're you going?!" Cole asked.

"Greenwood. My sister's there." I said as I started running again.

* * *

I was by the gates, waiting for Kyle to come in. Adagio came up with Star Swirl in her arms.

"He looks healthy." I said.

"Yes, he does." Adagio said.

"I hope they make it back soon." I said.

I then heard a faint voice call my name. I turned back and saw someone run up with about 15 people behind him.

"SONATA! SONATA!" The figure in the front called.

He got closer and saw that it was Kyle. I leaped down and swung the gates open. When they came in, Kyle then lunged on me. I held him as the others looked on.

"You're his sister?" Sunset asked.

I nodded with tears pouring out nonstop.

* * *

When I was able to open my eyes again, I saw Applejack, Blossom, Dexter, and a stranger who was looking at Rainbow like nothing else mattered.

"R... Rainbow?"

"Firefly?"

I was too busy thinking about Sonata to care.

After we met up, we started making ourselves at home. Aparrently, Sonata already set up cabins for each of them.

"I planned on running this place until the... other Twilight came. I figured she'd know what she was doing. But, since you're here and she isn't, I guess she's still in Equestria." She said.

"Yeah. We tried to get her, but the portal's shut." Sunset said.

"Well, we'll have to work something out. For now, you should start making yourselves at home. Later, we'll give you all a tour." Sonata said.

Twilight decided she could stay in her cabin until we worked something out. She apparantly had a guest bed and said I could take it. We set up by the time the sun started going down.

"We should go to the party tonight." Rainbow said.

"What party?" I asked.

"We have a party for all the newbies." Firefly said holding Rainbow's hand.

Not even going to ask.

* * *

We walked into a huge tent they put up. About 50 people were inside it and taking their seats at the sides. I saw Sonata start to walk up when she saw me in the crowd.

"Everyone... we have several new guests tonight. People who viaguously turned me into this... at a price. One of them is my brother, Kyle Williams. The others are the people I've told you about: The people who can help us through this. Come on up, guys."

We all started walking up to the stage. Johnny, Susan, Sissy, and Rin sat down.

"Come on. You're one of us." I said stretching my hand out.

They got up later and walked up with us. Sonata handed me the mic and I opened my mouth to speak.

"Hello. I'm Kyle. Apparently, you've heard of them." I said pointing at Rainbow, Sunset, and Applejack.

"The others are Rin, Johnny, Susan, and Sissy. We found them on the road. They heard that we were headed for this place, they were just the kind of people to say no." I lied.

I couldn't tell them about Rin, not just yet.

"Before we met them, we had a place. A city. Now, that you have Blossom, Dexter, and AJ, you probably heard of this story. But I wanna tell it again. We found it a year after everything went down, The Big Turn, we called it. After we built it up, we were attacked by an armed Kingdom." I kept talking until I saw Meiko look among the crowd, at me.

"I think that's all for now." Sonata offered as she handed her hand out to take the mic.

I handed to her and heard some people clap in interest. We went back when I saw someone behind me poke me.

"Kyle?"

"...Jane?"

"Wait, who's Jane?" Rin asked.

"An old orphan friend of mine." I said as we held each other instantly.

"Kyle, you're alive, after all this time? How?"

"I'll tell you later. Sonata too. The whole story." I said.

* * *

After the meeting, I called Sunset, Rainbow, and Applejack into the farm house.

"What is it?" Sunset asked.

"I wanna know what happened. There were six of you, now there are three of you; what happened?" I asked.

"...People died. Rarity, one of us, she was killed by someone who was a threat. Pinkie and Fluttershy, we lost them during the attack on Sanctuary. They could be out there, or they could be dead." Sunset told.

We were silent for a while until Adagio opened her mouth.

"We have wine in the counter, if you're interested."

"No, thanks. I'm good." Rainbow said.

"Nah, same here." AJ said.

Sunset was silent until she decided to walk around the counter and grab a bottle. She found a glass and poured a little into it, before sipping it down. She started coughing slightly, but poured another glass. Adagio grabbed the bottle when she was done and read the label.

"Red's Apple Ale. Not bad for a first drink." She said.

Sunset laughed and grabbed the bottle back.

"Careful. Alcohol kills brain cells, you know." I joked as I poured a glass myself.

"When did you meet him, Kyle?" Rainbow asked.

I turned around.

"Do you really wanna know?" I asked.

"Yes." AJ said.

"Well, strap yourselves down, because this is a long story..."

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, now the story will be back in full swing as chapters go. I apologize for the wait, but I wanted season 5 to end so I could know how the show handelle certain arcs that could carry over in the story over time.


	25. Peace

I opened my eyes, in a bed. I turned around and saw Twilight, about a few feet away in her own bed. I then recalled the events of yesterday. I finally got my sister back, and we were safe again. I don't expect it to last, but we can _make _it last. I got up and went to see the others, who were already up.

"Do you think this can work?" I asked Rainbow.

"It **has **to. We were almost out there too long. And if you are, you end up like I was." Rin said coming up.

"She's right." Rainbow said.

"Well, we should start thinking on what this place has. We should take a look at the wall." I said.

"You can ask Sonata or Twilight." Applejack said.

"Maybe." I said.

"What is it?" AJ asked.

"Nothing. It's just been too long since I saw her again, I don't have the first clue on how she changed." I said.

"Maybe she didn't." Rainbow said.

"I did. I know I did." I said.

"Me too. So did Diamond." Rin said.

"Diamond... that reminds me. Should we tell them to come?" I asked.

"Of course! Diamond needs this, so does Joel." Rin said.

"You don't know Joel, you don't know what they did to him..." I said coldly.

"What did they do?" Rin said.

I suddenly remembered what happened as soon as I said it. The tape... the way he changed...

"Nothing... just... nothing." I said.

Before the others could ask more questions, Twilight came out with her sword holstered.

"Did I hear you wanted a tour of the wall?"

* * *

Me and Twilight were looking at the wall. It was dumpsters and the backs of 18-wheelers placed together.

"How did you make all of this?" I asked.

"We kept building it up. It started as pallets around the house, but then we got more help." Twilight said.

I immediately started comparing this place to Sanctuary. We started out with pallets too...

"What did I miss here?" I asked.

"...A lot. We were attacked, we killed people, we lost people..." Twilight said.

"How about Sonata?" I asked.

"She killed. Lost people..." Twilight said.

"I did too..." I said.

"She asked me to talk to you tomorrow. About what happened." Twilight said.

"When?" I asked.

"As soon as we're done looking at the wall." Twilight said.

We kept looking until we found a large crack in the wall.

"Holy crap... what could've done this?" Twilight asked.

I pulled out my knife arm and climbed the wall. I didn't see anything except for about 7 zombies pounding against the wall.

"We should get construction crew on it." Twilight said.

"Yeah... we should." I replied.

Twilight pulled out her walkie and asked for some builders to fix the wall.

"You got it. They'll be there in a few minutes." Adagio said.

"Let's go have that talk." Twilight said.

* * *

We made it to the house and took a seat on the couch. Sonata came out of the other room and sat down.

"First off, great to see you again." Sonata said.

"That's an overstatement. Me too." I said.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

I opened my mouth and began speaking about it all: Gary, CHS, Sanctuary, Megaville, The Kingdom...

Scootaloo.

"I'm sorry... Can't imagine how that feels." Sonata said.

"We were out on the road. We found a radio station they set up in. They came out and tried to..." I started.

"Jesus..." Sonata said.

"That's not it. Yowane pinned me against me against and said that she was going to... I killed her when she was distracted. **I stopped it before it happened.**" I said.

"What else happened?" Sonata asked.

"We found two people: Joel and Diamond Tiara. Diamond lost it. The Dogs killed her friend, maybe raped them both... Joel, he changed. Or so it looked." I said.

"You wanna bring them here?" Sonata said.

"I'm thinking about that." I said.

"I think you should. The more people we have, the better." Sonata said.

"I'll put it under consideration." I said.

* * *

I left the house to see the others. They were in a seat, talking to some of the other people here. Jane saw me and took a seat.

"Sonata talked to me. I'm sorry." She said.

"There's nothing anyone could've done. It's how the cookie crumbled." I said.

"That's what Henry always said." Jane said.

"I know." I said.

I hadn't thought about my dad in a long time. What would he do if I left Joel and Diamond out there? It doesn't matter what they did. They deserve this place, even Joel after...

"I'll be right back." I said.

"You got it." Jane said.

I went up to speak to Joel.

"Yeah?" Joel asked.

"How is Diamond?" I asked.

"Oh, you have no idea. You told me how she was? Well, she's NOTHING like that. She's better now." Joel said.

"We're at Greenwood. My sister's alive. We think you should join us." I said.

"Really? After what I did to you?" Joel asked.

"_Don't do it..._" That damn voice in my head said.

"Yeah. After what you did to me and after what THEY did to YOU." I said.

"Thank you. I'll tell Diamond to start packing." Joel said.

"_You shouldn't have done it... he'll just get more people killed._"

I swear, as soon as I find out who this voice is, I am going to kill it.

"_You can't kill me, Kyle. You just can't._"

"Kyle! You okay?" I heard Sonata ask.

I looked down and saw her nearby.

"Yeah. We might have two new people coming in soon. Thought you should know." I said.

"Joel?" She asked.

I couldn't lie. She would know.

"Yeah." I said.

Sonata just nodded and went to watch the gates. Most likely to look out for Joel and Diamond. I decided to ask Jane where the others were.

"Oh, they're in the Rec Tent." Jane said.

"Wait, the _what?_"

* * *

So, apparently, the construction crew built up a HUGE tent for gatherings. It was like a circus tent, maybe bigger. I finally found the others with Firefly and Buttercup [Apparently, one of Blossom's sisters.].

"So, you still not sure this could work?" Rainbow whispered to me.

"I'm sure. This can work, for now. Just as long as-" I was interrupted by the sound of a truck smashing through the wall.

I ran out and saw...

Dogs.


	26. Dogs

I looked out and saw that the wall was down and... Dogs were running in with all kinds of melee weapons, but hardly any guns.

"**KILL THEM ALL!**" Cried one of the Dogs as the now moved in.

"What do we do?" Twilight asked me.

"We gotta get them out." I said.

"How?" Sonata asked.

"I don't know. It's too many to take out." I said.

"Bullcrap. We can take 'em." Buttercup said.

"As much as I like fighting, Kyle's right. We can't charge in without getting slashed." Rainbow said.

"So what do we do?!" Sonata whispered.

"I don't know!" I whispered back.

* * *

I was with AJ and Adagio as we started hiding inside a house.

"Who ARE these guys?!" I asked AJ.

"I don't know, Rin. It looks like some clan or somethin'." She said.

We looked out as they started killing people. I loaded my gun to get out, but Adagio stopped me.

"No! That's too many." She said.

I saw as another person was dragged out. She was shoved to the ground and pinned and most likely prepped to be raped.

"Shit..." I cursed as I barged out.

"Rin!" AJ cried.

The Dog looked up at me and let go of the girl.

"Quick... or slow?" He asked me.

"Neither." I said as I redecorated the grass and sidewalk with his brains.

I then saw 2 other Dogs glare at me. They readied their axes and bats and lunged at me.

"Get inside!" I said as I opened fire on the other Dogs.

She ran in and we locked the doors just in the nick of time.

"Who are you?" I asked the girl.

"Jane. I... I was with Kyle, but I lost him." Jane said panting for breath.

"Can you shoot?" I asked her as I grabbed my gun to give to her.

"Yeah." Jane said as she loaded the pistol and put it in her holster.

"Listen, if we stay here, we're going to die. We need to get to the house. Kyle would go there." I said to the others.

"Let's go." Adagio said.

"**We can't!** We'll get killed on sight." I said.

Before we could talk more, a shotgun blast went through one of the Dogs, and a loud _whack _through another. I opened the door and saw...

"Diamond?"

Diamond was there with a staff and Joel wasn't too far behind.

"Where's Kyle?" Joel asked.

"We don't know. We saw him at the Rec Tent, t-that big tent down there." Jane said.

"We have to get in there." Diamond said.

"We gotta go. We saw zombies comin' through the south wall. A lot." Joel said.

"Let's go." I said.

* * *

We were holding up in the Rec Tent. Several Dogs tried to get in, but we stopped them.

"Kyle, we can't hold them back much longer." Twilight said.

"What should we do? The whole community's here!" Rainbow said.

"We need to hold them off. I'll go out and look around, see how many there are." I said.

"You're **not **going alone." Sonata said.

"Fine. The rest of you, stay here and protect them. If any Dog gets through, kill them." I said.

"Got it." Buttercup said as she was ready to charge out and attack them.

I grabbed my Judge and found a Colt 1911 for Sonata. Together, we stuck to the shadows and saw over 50 Dogs everywhere.

"You couldn't fend this many off?" I asked.

"Not a lot of people wanted to be armed. We insisted, but they didn't listen." Sonata said.

"Damn it..." I cursed.

"Now what?" Sonata asked.

"Is there an armory?" I asked.

"Yeah. It's in the house." Sonata said.

"Head back. I'll find a rifle with Buttercup, take them out." I said.

"Why her?"

"Because she can fly and you can't." I said.

"Neither can you." Sonata said.

"No, but I can shoot. You need to protect the others. I'll be back." I said as I started my way back for Buttercup.

* * *

We were headed for the Rec Tent when we saw a LOT of Walkers from the south.

"God DAMN IT!" Adagio said as she started blasting them.

"Come on, we gotta go!" I said to Adagio.

We ran to the Rec Tent. I couldn't see Kyle.

"Where is he?" AJ asked.

"He's out scouting with Sonata." Rainbow said.

"He's gotta come back. There's a **horde** of them headed straight here. The tent won't hold them." I said.

"We can't go right now. Kyle's still out there." Sunset said.

"We **have **to. Anyone who stays here is gonna **die.**" I said.

"We can hold them back. There's not **that **many." Diamond said as she pulled out a Sawn-Off Shotgun and started stepping near the horde.

"If she's fightin' so am I!" Buttercup said as she pulled out a sword.

"Me too." Rainbow said as she pulled out an SMG.

"Me four." Joel said as he loaded his shotgun.

Eventually, we all loaded our weapons at the tent where the Walkers started tearing through. They then flooded in and we started firing. It was a bloodbath, with us shooting and Buttercup slicing and punching the Walkers. We then started running out of bullets; people started getting pulled in the horde and devoured.

"Everyone, to the house **NOW!**" Twilight said as she sliced through a Walker and started pulling people to the exit.

Before we could run out, Dogs ran in through it.

"This way!" Twilight said.

She sliced through the tent and we ran to the house. Kyle and Sonata then ran next to us.

"Good. You're safe. Come on!" Sonata said.

We ran into the house and started fortifying the doors and windows.

"Where do we go?" A person asked.

"Anywhere but here." Sonata said.

"No. We can hold them back." Diamond said.

Then, another person stepped up.

"**YOU!** You lead them here, didn't you?! Now you're gonna kill all of us!"

"Hey, hey, hey. Everyone calm down. She didn't lead them here, she's not gonna kill us. There're friends of Kyle and they're friends of ours now." Sonata said.

"Move over, Sonata." The person said as he loaded a shotgun.

Diamond readied her staff and Joel pumped his shotgun and took the safety off.

"Put that down, James!" A woman, probably his wife, said.

"No, Maria. She killed us! Now we gotta make her pay." James said as he aimed his gun.

Diamond then swung at him, rendering his unconscious.

"He's alive. For now." Diamond said to Maria who was taken aback by the attack.

Before we could do anything else, the barricades broke and the horde started breaking through.

"Upstairs, all of you!" Sonata said as she started blasting Walkers up.

James was surrounded and devoured in his sleep, Maria leaped in soon after. The rest of us ran upstairs and moved a couch against the stairs.

"Holy SHIT, what just happened?!" Adagio asked.

"How many are out there?" Kyle asked.

I looked out the window and saw that the Dogs were now Runners, but the horde was short, _just _reaching the outside of the house.

"Not a lot. If we can find a way outside, we can outrun them. All of us." I said.

There were about 24 of us, counting Star Swirl, who was now in Adagio's arms.

"What about him?" A person asked.

"We take him with us." Adagio said sternly.

"What if he slows us down?" The person asked.

"He won't. Calm the hell down." Kyle said to him.

"Yes, he will. If we make it out, if we hole up somewhere, what do we do when he starts to cry? Hell, what if he started walkin' and walks into another goddamn horde?!"

"HEY! Calm down! He WON'T slow us down, he WON'T be an issue. Like it or not, he is my SON! I am NOT leaving him to Walkers!" Adagio said as she started leading the person to the window.

"You wanna get away? Jump. You can outrun them." Adagio said to him.

"'Dagio! Calm down." Jane said to her.

"Don't you DARE tell me to calm down!" Adagio said.

"EVERYONE CALM THE HELL DOWN!" Sonata screamed.

Silence then filled the room as Sonata's outburst ended.

"Look, I get it. You're all afraid. But this is a scary world, now. **If you don't fight, you die.** Now, does anyone else have ANYTHING they want to say?" I asked.

Everyone shook their heads and we prepared to jump.

"How many people were here?" I asked Sonata.

"...56 at least." She said.

"And now there're 25..." I said.

"Yeah. Look, I know that they ALL aren't going to make it. But we have to **try. **Otherwise, we're just as good as they are. You know that, right?" Sonata asked me.

"Yeah... I know." I replied.

We started to let people out and run. I saw that the couch was _almost _down.

"Go! We got this!" A man said as he and a few of the other residents went with him.

They ran down and held the couch up. I told Rin to go out first, then Rainbow, then Twilight, then Joel, then Diamond.

That was when the couch crashed down and crushed the survivors to death.

"GO!" I called out to the other 18 people left.

As we jumped out, Frosty got grabbed.

"FROSTY!" Kat called out.

* * *

I shot the Walker on him, but it was useless, as about 30 more were behind that one. We all ran out the house and into the fields. I saw the bodies, Greenwood, Walkers, and Dogs.

"Shit... now what?" Sonata asked.

"We look for survivors, draw the zombies away, and get the armory. Then, we take the truck and go." I said.

"Where do we go?" Alice asked.

"Somewhere that's not here." Sonata said.

Before we started looking, Meiko came out with one of the Dogs hostage. I recognized him off the spot. He was Top Dog, their leader.

My father's killer.

"You did this. All of it." I said to him.

"Who the hell are you?" Top Dog asked me.

I knelt down to him and leaned in close.

"Sanctuary Orphanage. Remember the name? It was the name of my father's orphanage, Henry Williams. You burnt it all to the ground. The orphanage, 20 of the children, and Henry himself. Who am I? I'm Kyle Williams. Remember that."

Top Dog wasn't stunned in any way.

"What do you want?" He asked finally.

"What do I want?" I asked him.

I then started putting a hand at my knife.

"I want. To know. Why. Why did you kill them? What did we do that was so bad, that was so horrifying, that you had to destroy it all?" I asked.

"...You have **her.**" Top Dog said, pointing at Sonata.

I turned at Sonata and turned back.

"What did she do that was so bad?" I asked.

"If I told ya, you'd never look at her the same again." Top Dog said.

Before anything could happen, he was snatched from behind and pinned to a way by Diamond, who punched him in the face.

"Do you remember **me?** Huh? Do you remember SILVER SPOON?! **She **was the one that YOU shot in the face after your men raped her **AND **me, **SIDE. TO. SIDE.**" Diamond said as she landed more punches.

"Look, liste-" He was silenced by Diamond landing a blow on him.

She pinned him to the ground and landed blow after blow, until Joel stopped her. We looked at the aftermath and saw Top Dog, struggling to breathe, his face covered in blood. I took my knife and went up to his ear.

"Kyle Williams. Remember the name." I said as I stabbed him in the head soon after.


	27. Graves

It's been a week since Greenwood was destroyed. We were all now back on the road. The new people, Buttercup, Meiko, Twilight, Sonata, Alice, Cole, and Kat, were with us. The other people from Greenwood left in fear. I can't say I blame them, but I'm not with them. Now, there is about 18 of us, counting Star Swirl. I was staying on watch with Meiko.

"I don't know how I feel about you guarding my people alone." I said as I started.

We were silent until Meiko said,

"Look, about Scootaloo-"

"Don't. She's gone, and it's because of your people. That's all there is." I said.

"I know you're angry, and you should be, but Kyle... I stopped her from raping you. You know that, right?" She asked me.

"You didn't do **crap.** You didn't stop her, I did." I said.

We were silent again for the rest of our turn. Rainbow woke up and said it was her turn.

"Alright, good night." Meiko said as she went to fall asleep.

I couldn't sleep. Not yet.

"So... Kyle." Rainbow started.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I heard your conversation with Meiko. Kyle, I get why you're careful with her, but it's done." Rainbow said.

"I know. She died, Rainbow. Scootaloo, dead." I said.

"Yeah. We didn't bury her, we should." Rainbow said.

"I'll have to talk to the others." I said.

"We can go ourselves, bury her, get what's left from Sanctuary..." Rainbow started.

"Maybe we can rebuild it one day. Not today, certainly not tomorrow, but one day." I said.

"Yeah... maybe." Rainbow said as she noticed a zombie pass.

"Don't. It doesn't see us yet." I said.

It just kept walking pass us.

"Tomorrow morning, we head back to Sanctuary. Supplies, vehicles, and maybe a roof for a week or two..." I said.

We were silent until Rainbow said,

"Sorry for leaving back then."

"It's fine. You doubted us, and it just turns out that you were right." I said.

"No. I was wrong. You made it work. Not forever, but like you said, we can rebuild it again. And we will. Someday." Rainbow said.

* * *

"Kyle, are you crazy?! Sanctuary's infested with zombies now, or The Kingdom." Rin said.

"Look, I know this sounds insane, but this is all we can do. The supplies have to be intact. All we have to do is find a way to go under the city, into the armory, pantry, and garage, and get the supplies that're left. I **know **that there's at least **one **can of food, at least **one **weapon." I said.

"Even if we get in, we don't know what's inside. Maybe it's looted dry." AJ said.

"Even if it is, we have another reason to go." Rainbow said.

"Why?" Johnny asked.

"Because Scootaloo's body is still there, rotting away. The **least **we can do is bury her." Rainbow said.

Some nodded in agreement, but Jane, Johnny, Sissy, Susan, and Adagio were confused.

"Um, quick question. Who is Scootaloo?" Adagio asked.

I simply looked back at her.

"She was my girlfriend. She was slaughtered on the way out of Sanctuary by Yowane Haku. And later on, she came back. She had her men attempt to rape the others. I stopped them before they could do it. Sonata, Twilight, and Meiko know the story." I said.

We were then silent. Out of the silence, Rin got up and grabbed a gun.

"I'm in." She said.

Rainbow was next.

"Always was in."

Soon, more people got up and did the same.

"Alright then. We head that way, north. It was a city called Townsville." I said.

Buttercup's eyes then got wider than they usually are.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I was born there." She said.

"Me too." Blossom said.

"Then lead the way." I said.

We then started heading out. Blossom and Buttercup were only inches above ground, but enough for astonishment. I started seeing familiar roads, then I saw the tank outside the massive walls.

"You **built **that?" Twilight asked me.

"Yeah, with help, but yeah." I replied.

"But they destroyed it. All of it." Meiko said.

"Everyone, you see anyone in armor, you kill them. Don't hesitate. They won't..." I said as I readied my Judge.

We went in and saw that the place was empty. No zombies, no Knights.

No fire.

"The armory's this way. The garage is that way. Me and Rainbow will start digging." I said.

Rainbow nodded and grabbed a nearby shovel.

"You get into any trouble, fire a shot." Rainbow said.

* * *

We started searching for the armory. I saw that the buildings were also destroyed partially.

"You think Scootaloo could've made it out?" AJ asked me.

"I have no idea. Maybe... maybe Yowane faked it and Scootaloo's alive somewhere. Somewhere far away from here... If she's alive, we'll never find her. Best not to dwell on it." I said to her.

"Maybe." AJ said.

"Hey, Blossom! Where was the armory again?" My sister asked me.

"The office over there, Buttercup." I said.

We went inside and found that it was untouched, every weapon was still there.

"Thank God." Rin said.

"How're the Pantry Group doing?" Buttercup asked.

I pulled out my walkie and contacted Adagio.

"Adagio? We found it. How are you doing?" I asked.

"Pretty damn good, Blossom. We found the pantry and must I say, Sonata, your brother did a splendid job." Adagio said, while loosening her stern tone.

Sonata then snatched the walkie from my hands.

"Don't you even think about it, Adagio!" Sonata hissed.

Not even gonna ask...

We started opening bags and loading them with as much of the armory as possible.

* * *

We went to where Scootaloo's body was. We found it untouched near the gate. Rainbow started finding a spot nearby. I decided to pay my respects one more time. I sat near the body and I noticed something pretty important:

Scootaloo wasn't this fat...

"What is it?" Rainbow asked.

"Flip her around." I said.

"Why?" She asked.

I didn't answer as I started flipping her around. Rainbow then joined in.

"What are you doing?" Rainbow asked.

"She has scars on her back. Burns, cuts, bruises..." I said as I flipped out a pocket knife.

I pulled the hoodie up and zipped it off.

"Daisuke, please forgive me..." I said silently as I cut into the shirt.

I pulled the two flaps away and...

Not a single scar.

"Oh, my God... Rainbow, she's..."

Rainbow now had her hands over her mouth and a tear started falling off her cheek.

"She's alive." I heard her mumble.

"Yeah... she's alive." I said.

Rainbow quickly held me in an embrace. I held her there as I kept looking at the body.

It wasn't her.

Scootaloo is alive.

"Um... hello." A slightly familiar voice called out.

We disengaged and drew our weapons on the figure. They were covered in a hoodie with a backpack on their back and a pistol in a holster.

"Who are you?" I asked.

The figure then took off the hood and I recognized her on the spot.

Sugarcoat.

"I have good news..."


	28. Home

_"...He's worse than Autumn was!" Sugarcoat said._

_I felt a blow land on my shoulder. I fell to the ground and Jet Set was behind her. They kept launching blows, until I grabbed a fist and twisted it almost 360 degrees._

_"ARGGH! Mother- Ah!" Sugarcoat screamed as she held her right fist, now twisted._

_I stood up and reached in the back of my shirt._

_It's time._

_I pulled out the knife and they immediately stepped back._

_"Whoa, there, Kyle. You don't want to do this..." Jet Set said._

_They thought it was for them..._

_I hesitated for a second. I liked them this way, with the tables turned. Now_ they _were afraid of _me_..._

_I tossed the knife soon after._

_"Just do it..." I begged as I took a seat near the end of the roof._

_"Do... do what?" Sugarcoat asked in a tone I never heard before._

_Worry._

_"Do what Cinch wants you to do..." I said, without turning back._

_I waited for what I hoped to be the end. I waited for my father's face to shine in front of me. _

_Instead, I heard the door open and a voice getting quieter._

_"CINCH! CInch..."_

* * *

"KYLE! WAKE UP!" I heard Scootaloo say.

With that, I was slapped back into reality. I looked at Scootaloo, and I was still gasping for air.

"I'm fine. It was just a bad dream, that's all." I said.

"Kyle, you didn't wake up for half an hour..." Scootaloo said.

What?

"Well, sorry I scared you, I just..." I started.

"You had the dream again, didn't you?" Scootaloo asked.

I let out a sigh.

"...Yeah." I said.

Scootaloo sighed and put her hand in mine.

"I know what they did. Sugarcoat told me when I told her that I know you. Kyle, you have to forgive them. I know it sounds hard, but sooner or later, you all will be trapped together. If you don't trust one another, that's bound to go wrong." Scootaloo said.

I drank in Scootaloo's words until I heard a voice call out from downstairs.

"COME ON! IT'S TIME TO GO!" Rainbow cried.

We got up and went down.

"I hear you. Before we go, there's something I have to do." I said.

"What is it?" Rainbow asked.

I didn't want to tell her yet.

"I'll tell you when I'm done." I said.

"Okay..." Rainbow said.

"Scoot, you coming?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll be right there." Scootaloo said.

I started heading toward where I wanted to go: The tank site.

Where Daisuke was.

I grabbed 2 trash bags and put one on his head, and one on his feet. Scootaloo came up and grabbed some duct tape. She handed it to me and I put it on the bag.

"I'm sorry, Scoot. He was one of the greatest people I've ever met in a long time..." I said as I started to carry him.

We went inside the walls and to our graveyard where I grabbed a shovel.

"Wait..." Scootaloo said.

She took the shovel.

"How about Shining and Gold Lily?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'll get them." I said.

I headed out to find their corpses.

Only they found me.

I took out Scootaloo's machete and saw that Shining was still a Runner. He charged at me and I was ready to strike.

But a sword went through him first.

The body fell and I saw Twilight with tears in her eyes. I saw that she took out Gold Lily as well.

"I'm sorry... he was a good man. He would've been an even **better **father." I said as I grabbed two more trash bags.

"This was his son...?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah. He had him not too long before we were attacked." I said as I found a trash bag for Gold Lily.

"I... I always felt like he was dead..." Twilight said as she grabbed the body.

"Need help?" I asked as I grabbed an end of the body.

We went to the graveyard when I saw Scootaloo stick a grave where she buried Daisuke.

"Can you give me a minute?" I asked.

Twilight nodded and she started burying Shining. I went to Scootaloo, who was paying her respects.

"You said he was like a father to you once. Did you really mean that?" She asked.

"Of course. My real father died a while ago. A year before the dead started to come back." I said.

"I'm sorry." Scootaloo said.

"I'm sorry, too." I said.

We stayed until Rainbow came up.

"Guys, we can't wait much-" She came up and saw the graves.

We were silent until Scootaloo got up.

"I think I'm good. You?" She asked me.

"Yeah, there's just... one more thing I got to do alone." I said.

I went to an empty area near the walls. I started making another grave for someone else. I took out a knife and carved a name with it.

**FLUTTERSHY**

I stuck it in the ground and placed the knife there.

The knife I begged Sugarcoat and Jet Set to kill me with.

I kneeled down and put one hand on the grave. I felt my eyes start to water. A tear started falling down my eyes and I wiped it away.

* * *

We were set up near the gates.

"Where is he?" Sugarcoat asked.

"He's doing something alone." I said.

"What's he doing?" Firefly asked.

"I have no idea." Rainbow said, walking up next to her.

"You don't think he's burying everyone else, don't you?" Rin asked.

"He could be. A lot of good people died here. Daisuke, Big Mac, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Riku, Frank..." Sunset started.

"I'm sorry for your losses." Sombra said.

I was silent after Sunset brought up my parents.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" Sunset was interuppted by Kyle walking back down with my machete.

"I guess you want this back..." Kyle said, holding the machete out.

"Keep it. You seemed good with it. I got this." I held out my hatchet from back home.

Kyle nodded and sheathed the machete. We went to the R.V with the others.

"I don't think that'll fit all of us." Johnny said.

"Yeah, we have more cars with us. We all drive seperate , we wanted to bring everyone back home." Luna said.

"Where IS home?" Kyle asked.

"Ky, we're back at CHS. We have your houses in the walls, at least, those of you who came from here." I said to Kyle, holding his hand.

I could see that Kyle was in shock. The others were too. I didn't know what to tell Kyle until he wraped his arms around me.

"Don't worry," I said, whispering into his ear. "I've been tending to your house for you."

* * *

I woke up on Scootaloo's shoulder inside the R.V. I looked around as saw Rainbow and Firefly asleep on the bed together. I let out a chuckle and saw that we were stopped. I got up and saw that we were at large gates.

I looked on as the others walked out of the . I went to wake up Scootaloo, but she was already awake.

"You ready?" She asked me.

I took her hand.

"I was always ready." I said to her.

We walked out of the R.V and we saw that the gates started to open.

Finally, we were home.


	29. Reunion

We stood in front of the gates as they slid open. I saw a rather familiar face staring at me.

"Gary?" I asked.

"Holy shit... Kyle?" Gary asked.

"We have some catching up to do." I said smiling.

"Yes we do..." Gary said, looking at the group, chuckling, and back at me.

"On both ends..." I said, chuckling as we went inside.

We saw Celestia walk forwards, and her eyes go wide as she saw Sonata.

"Easy, Celestia. She's with the others." Scootaloo said, holding her hands up.

Celestia calmed down slightly.

"Well... this might make things harder. We need to see everyone's weapons. You'll have them back once you gain our absolute trust, or whenever you go beyond the wall." Celestia said.

Rainbow and the others from here lowered their weapons instantly. The rest of us hesitated, but we lowered our weapons.

Only I kept my arm.

"Thank you. I assume you know that most of your homes have been reclaimed. Yours too, Kyle." Celestia said as she grabbed a wheelbarrow for our weapons.

"Yeah, I heard." I said as I got ready to see the old place again.

"I apologize to the rest of you who don't live in this area. We only managed to reclaim about 30 blocks of the town. We ignored the city, and for good reason." She said.

"Yeah, I heard about Crystal-" I stopped talking when a very familiar person came forward.

Abacus Cinch...

"Mr. Williams...? Twilight?"

I resisted the overwhelming sensation of cracking her in the face.

"Hello, **Cinch...**" I said as calmly as possible.

Celestia looked on in shock of my response.

"We'll, um... give you three some privacy." Celestia said as she told the others to follow her.

We were alone again.

What should I do?

"Let me start this conversation by stating that I am **very **sorry about-"

"_**Don't. **_Just know one thing: These people... are my family. And if you, Sugarcoat, or any other one of you snobs hurt them in **any **way... I will kill you, and don't think I won't. That's all there is to say." I said as I walked away, purposely knocking my shoulder into hers.

I only went a few steps ahead, and I snuck around to listen to Twilight.

"...Twilight, I am sorry abou-"

"ABOUT WHAT, HUH?! USING ME, USING WHAT I FOUND AS A WEAPON, AND NEARLY DESTROYING EVERYTHING JUST TO GET A **LEG UP?! **I've seen ALL KINDS of people like YOU, **CINCH! **You're just someone who uses everyone around them to keep themselves alive by any ways possible. Those people are **always **the ones who die. You just found these walls in time..." Twilight said as she nearly knocked Cinch over as she paced away.

What did I miss at the Friendship Games?

* * *

I was handed a key to my old house.

"We recovered as much as we could." Celestia said.

I ignored her and went to my street. I found the house and opened the door.

It was almost untouched. It was even tended to.

"Hey, Ky." Scootaloo said, in one of the many empty rooms.

"Hey." I said as I took a seat on the table.

"So, this is your house, huh?" Scootaloo asked.

"...Yeah. My dad, when he wrote his will, said that all of his assets would be handed to us, 'Every last penny', he wrote. We put it into this..." I said.

"How much did he make...?" Scootaloo asked.

"Not really sure, but a lot..." I said.

"Looks like it. So, I never really knew, which room's yours?"

I actually forgot for a minute. It soon came back to me, as part of the carpet is red in my blood...

"The one on the left. That one's mine." I said.

"That one? I should've figured, you always told me that you were a gamer." Scootaloo chuckled.

I let out a chuckle and decided to see the room again. I recognized it off the bat. I remembered the countless hours I spent playing _Fallout 4_, the desk I did my homework on, the... Lego table?

I let out another chuckle.

"All of this makes me feel 13 again..." I joked.

"Yeah, I get that. We got a power grid set up, with solar panels, windmills..." Scootaloo started.

"If I wanna do that again, I'll just go out the walls." I said.

"Yeah, but that's dangerous, that isn't..." Scootaloo tempted, holding the controller out to me.

Well...

I guess it wouldn't **hurt**...

* * *

We spent about 2 hours playing _Fallout 4_, taking turns each time we died.

It was a hell of a time.

"Wait, so... what's a Synth?" Scootaloo asked.

"Where do I start? Let me just say that it's a robot designed to look and act like a human." I said.

"Urgh! All of this science is making my head hurt!" Scootaloo said before breaking into laughter.

I soon did the same and we were on the floor together. After the laughter died down, we turned to face each other.

"You didn't see the others while I was gone, did you?" She asked.

"What?! What makes you think that?!" I asked.

"It's human nature! You know, hormones and stuff. I'd actually be thankful you saw them..." Scootaloo said.

"Well, sorry to crush your **theory****, **but I didn't." I said.

We started chuckling slightly, and Scootaloo just stared at me. I stared back and before I could stop it, our lips met.

"Nice to have you back." Scootaloo said.

"Nice to have you back, too." I said.

* * *

We were about to go to interviews they had for us. I decided that I could trust these people...

I stood over a cabinet, twisted my robot arm, detached it, and set it on the cabinet.

"Hey, Ky! What's holding you-" She saw me set my arm down.

"I'm ready." I said with a grin on my face.


	30. Party

We went through the door of Celestia's home. We came in and we were welcomed by Celestia.

"Hello. Good to see you two he-" Celestia saw my arm.

"I lost it a while ago." I said.

"Alright... welcome." Celestia said, a bit unnerved.

We went inside and found the others. I saw Sonata talking with Adagio in the crowd.

"Good to see those two talking." Scootaloo said.

"Yeah, it is." I said.

I also saw Rin talk to Jane and Johnny about God-knows-what.

"What do you think they're talking about?" I asked.

"I have no idea. It looks good, though." Scootaloo said.

I saw Diamond and Joel sit on the stool, completely unsocial.

"They got the right idea. Not a lot of people will want to speak to Diamond, and Joel, well..." I said.

"Joel what?" She asked.

"Not here. I'll tell you when we get home." I said.

We looked for the others. We saw Rainbow and Firefly take a few shots, Sunset trying to fit in, Twilight talking with Cinch- peacefully this time-, and Applejack talk with Luna.

"They actually seem relaxed for once." Alice said behind me.

"Yeah, they do. Kat didn't want to come?" I asked.

"No. I told Cole to stay with her, just in case."

"Well, the girl's been through a lot. We all have, at this point." I said.

We were silent as we heard Celestia propose a toast to the people.

"...we are here tonight, to welcome our newcomers. What better way to welcome them, then to invite their leader to say a few words? Kyle, may you come up here, please?" Celestia asked.

I came up to the stand. I saw as people stopped talking and stood up. My people were watching, but not completely.

"I... I can't even **think **of how grateful my people are to be here, and I can't say how grateful I am to be here. I guess not many of you are from the outside." I said.

I saw about 3 hands go up, but not a lot.

"Then you understand how it is out there. It's horrible, it breaks you, or it can, if you're not careful. Me, I was already broken. All the world did was put me back together. I wasn't the same, none of us will be. Ever. But we have this place, that keeps you people going. The things people tried to do to us, the things we had to do... the things **I **had to do... that's what breaks you. Not the world." I said as I put the mic back and went back down.

"That was Kyle, everyone. I always knew there was a fire in him." Celestia said.

I took a seat back with Scootaloo.

"That was good. A real synopsis for those people..." Scootaloo said.

"Oh, that wasn't even **half.** If anything, the others kept me going out there. If I was alone out there... I don't wanna think on what I'll be." I said.

We were silent until one of the locals came up.

"Hey. You did a good speech." He said.

"And who are you?" I asked.

I noticed that Scootaloo's look changed to a sneer.

"Blueblood. I'm Luna's son." Blueblood said as he held his hand out.

I shook it and saw that Scootaloo's look hasn't changed until he left.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Nothing." Scootaloo said.

* * *

The party was done and were sent home.

"You should use the shower. I guess you didn't use one since Sanctuary." Scootaloo said with a grin on her face.

I chuckled and nodded. We went inside and I found some old clothes of mine.

Let's hope they still fit.

I went inside and locked the door. The first thing I noticed when I looked in the mirror was my hair. I let it grow out, and I think it's time for a trim... I thought Adagio's hairdo was bad, all of that hair. I look like Scootaloo, if she let her hair grow out, _just _a little bit more.

I cranked the shower and fresh water shot out. At least... I think it's fresh. I'll have to ask Scootaloo once I'm out.

* * *

When I was done, I decided to trim the hair. I looked in the mirror, and the first thing I saw...

Was a bite mark on the right side of my neck.

I lept back, thinking it was a zombie bite, then I remembered. The memory hit me like a lightning storm. How could I forget? It was my choice, after all...

"Damn you, Miss. Chrysalis... Damn you." I said as I found some of my mom's old makeup to cover the hickey.

To be honest, I never thought I'd regret that choice. After all of that pain, bleeding...

I wanted to feel _one _good thing.

Now, I can't lose it to Scootaloo, or anyone else.

I let it be taken from me by-

"Kyle? You're taking a while. You alright in there?" Scootaloo asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, just... give me a minute." I said as I put my old clothes on.

Suprisingly, they fit almost perfectly. It was just the sleeves and pantlegs that were the problem. I opened the door and I saw Scootaloo on the couch, listening to an old MP3 Player that belonged to my mom.

"Like that music?" I asked.

"Yeah. Your mom had good taste." Scootaloo said.

"You two would've gotten along greatly. At first glance, they would've thought you and I were siblings." I joked.

We let out a good chuckle and I saw that it was getting dark.

"How do you people handle the dark?" I asked.

"All of the outside lights get shut, we shut the blinds, and we light candles for light." Scootaloo said as she lit some candles.

"Sounds smart. Keeps attention down. I like it..." I said.

"Wish we did it at Sanctuary." Scootaloo said.

Before we could say anything else, someone knocked on the door.

"What is it?" Scootaloo asked.

"Probably nothing." I said as I went up to the door.

I opened it and I saw Sonata with a basket.

"Got another room?" She asked.

"Um... I probably shouldn't have to ask, but... why?" I asked.

"Because you're my brother, and I never got to live here. What, do you think I'm bringing Adagio?" Sonata asked as she rolled her eyes.

"No, just... There's a room on the left, you can take that." I said as she came inside and I shut the door.

I turned around as saw Scootaloo with one eyebrow lowered.

"Who's Adagio?" Scootaloo asked with a curious tone.


	31. Sins

I woke up the day after the party, next to Scootaloo. I got up and I went to see the pantry. I saw that they left a watch for me. I put it on and I noticed that it was 7:30.

_Maybe they're not up yet._ I thought.

I went to the armory and noticed that their guard, Sugarcoat... was up.

"Hey." She said.

"I'm going out the gate, need to blow off some steam." I said.

"Uh... sure thing." Sugarcoat lead me into the armory.

When we were out there, they upgraded the armory greatly. I even saw an RPG near the 10mms.

"Yeah. Crystal Prep's been paying us visits for the past year. But, when we put our foot down and shot them back, one of them dropped that and 7 rockets." Sugarcoat said.

I only grabbed my M16, Judge, and machete and started going for the gate.

"Hey, I see what you're doing. You don't forgive us, and I accept that, but Kyle, you can't stay this way forever." Sugarcoat said.

"You have no authority over me to say that. No-one does." I said as I walked out the gates.

I started driving to the location in mind. I saw it on the map I "borrowed" from the armory. A Walker saw me in the and growled. I stopped the car, unsheathed my machete, and dispatched the creature. I saw that it had a pistol in his hand. I took it and I kept on driving until I reached the intersection.

_Jerry Rd. 203, Changeling Blvd. _I thought to myself.

I ran to the place in question. I heard movement inside the house. I loaded my M16, kicked the door down and aimed at...

A few Walkers.

I lead them out and bashed them with the M16. When that was that, I went inside the house I was all too familiar with...

I still remember the arrangements like I was here yesterday. The bedroom was on the left, the kitchen down the front... I kept walking to the room I had in mind: The basement.

I found an old corpse, still alive and growling at me. I killed it and a little photo fell out.

I recognized the faces: Sombra and Chrysalis.

This was their home, and the place where I lost my virginity.

I found a can of gasoline next to the body, I emptied whatever gas was left, lit a match, and ran out as the place started burning. I went back into my car and drove back to Canterlot. Sugarcoat was still there, watching the gates.

"Did you find what you went for?" She asked.

"...No." I said as I went to turn in my weapons.

* * *

"I'm telling you, it's suicide!" Luna said.

"No, it's not! Listen, you said that the mall was overrun since day one, right?" I asked her.

"Yes, but... why?" Celestia asked.

"Because, if it's been overrun, maybe there're still some supplies worth taking in there." I said.

"Alright... who should go?" Luna asked.

"Rainbow Dash, Firefly, Blueblood, and Sour Sweet can go. Anyone else?" Celestia asked.

Joel came up.

"I'll go, too." He said.

"Okay, then. That solves that. Everyone can return to their homes." Celestia said.

I went up to Joel.

"Don't try anything..." I whispered as I walked out the door.

I walked to see Rainbow start drawing a map of the location with Sour Sweet. I decided t pay them a visit.

"I could come with you, you know." I said.

"Yeah, but Scootaloo **just **got you back. Let her relax for a few days, at least." Rainbow said.

"Okay, I see your point." I said.

"Hey, um... Kyle? Cinch told me to send you to her. She lives about two houses down." Sour Sweet said.

I nodded and went down. I knocked, being careful in case it's a trap. Cinch opened the door and invited me in.

"So, as you know, there still are some matters we need to talk about." Cinch said.

I kept my left hand behind my back, but I saw Twilight on the couch and relaxed slightly.

"Take a seat." Cinch invited.

I took a seat on the couch and Cinch went to find something.

"What's this about?" I asked.

"It's about that bite on your neck." Twilight said.

I froze, dead pale in place.

"It's alright. Cinch told me **everything.** I can't blame you, and I don't." Twilight said.

Before I could say a word, Cinch came out with an old pair of glasses.

Twilight's.

"When you were still at Crystal Prep, you and Kyle were inseprable, despite your age difference. Kyle, where **did **that bite come from?" Cinch asked.

My face had a heartbeat. All I could do was unload.

"It was near the start. The start of the zombies. My grades were starting to fail, at least I was told they were failing, so Miss Chrysalis voulenteered to tutor me privately. I should've known that something was up, I should've **known** that-" I took a breath.

"So, Miss Chrysalis did this to you? Was that all she did to you?" Cinch asked, analyzing the bite.

I took a sharp breath. They need to know, but I don't want to say it directly, I _can't. _

"**No.**"

The room was completely silent. Cinch was horrified and Twilight let out a forgiving nod.

"What happened? If you want to tell us..." Cinch offered.

"When... when I reached the door, went in, I saw Chrysalis in the living room. We did- we actually did **small talk,**" I started laughing, "and then, she offered to sit on the couch. We did, and then... she... she **pinned **me on the couch. She gave me an offer." I said.

"What...?" Cinch asked, fearing the worst.

"She offered me to feel something else **besides **pain, **besides **suffering. I wanted to, I wanted to have a way out." I started.

The room was silent. Twilight kept looking on like nothing has happened and Cinch was about to faint.

"**And so I said YES. **After that... well... you know, I try to kill myself, and the zombie apocalypse strikes." I said, finally letting the truth out.

Cinch looked away and sighed.

"Kyle... I'm so sorry." Cinch said as she walked into one of the rooms.

She shut the door and I could swear I heard choked sobs. I turned to Twilight, who was just looking on.

"What? Are you mad?" I asked.

"No. I forgive you." She said.

"H- how can you forgive me?! I just told you that I let myself get molested, and you **forgive **me?" I asked.

"Yes, I do. Crystal Prep is, and in lack of better terms, a reincarnation of Hell. I can't judge you for wanting to feel something. I felt that way a lot, when I was that age. Kyle, **I **should be the one apologizing to you. I **left **you there- with her, with- with THEM. Kyle, I am so sorry..." Twilight said.

She held me in an embrace and I held her back. We stayed there as I started to hear Twilight break down.

And then I started, too.

* * *

"Okay, so this is what we do: Sour Sweet, you and Firefly take it south, survey the area for exits. Blueblood, you and I will check the north. Once our sides our searched our groups split up, and survey the east and the west. If we do this right, Sour Sweet should end up with Blueblood and I should end up with Firefly. When we're done, we meet back here and we make our move. Joel, you keep watch." I said.

"You got it, boss." Sour Sweet said.

We started splitting up to survey the area.

"So, you and Firefly, huh?" Blueblood asked.

"Shh! Lower your voice." I said.

"Sorry." Blueblood whispered as he disbatched a Walker nearby.

"Yeah. We started dating in middle school. I was at Cloudsdale Academy at the time, and she was junior captain." I said.

We were silent as we followed the plan and finally split up. Surely enough, I met back up with Firefly.

"Okay, now what?" She asked.

"Now we meet back up at where Joel's keeping watch." I said.

We heard a scream and we ran back. When we got back, we saw Sour Sweet and Blueblood, cornered with about 12 Walkers on them.

"Okay, you get left, I get right. Joel, cover us." I said as I grabbed my bat and rushed in.

Firefly pulled out a butterfly knife and we started taking the Walkers out. One of them was about to get me, but a silent gunshot ended that.

"Thanks." I said to Joel.

The last Walker was tricky, because it had armor on. But Firefly pulled the head up and stabbed it.

"Nice one." I complemented.

"Don't mention it." Firefly said.

We got Blueblood and Sour Sweet out.

"Okay, so now what?" Sour Sweet asked.

"Now what?! Nothing's changed. We go in, stay quiet, and grab what we can." I said.

We moved down and banged on the door. Sure enough, a few bangs were heard on the other side.

"Who wants to have the honors?" Sour Sweet asked.

I readied my bat.

"Okay, Blueblood, you get the door. Let one or two out, then close it. Remember, we gotta control this. We don't know how many there are." I said.

"What if he can't close it?" Sour Sweet asked.

"Good point. Firefly, you help Blueblood with the door. Sour Sweet, use your bow and take the high ground with-" I considered that this was a bad idea.

"Joel can take the door. Blueblood can go with you." I said.

Joel nodded and took Blueblood's place near the door.

"Okay... three, two... ONE!" I called.

The door was opened, but Walkers didn't come out at all.

At least 20 men did.


	32. Danger

"Easy, there miss. Lower your guns..." The head leader said, holding a double-barrel to my face.

We lowered our weapons and holstered them.

"Get your snipers down here." He said.

"What snipers?" Firefly asked.

The leader chuckled.

"Okay, okay, can we **not? **'Kay? We saw your men up there. Tell 'em to come on, or I blast all of you."

We sighed and told Blueblood and Sour Sweet to come out.

"Oh, holy shit! We got Canterlots, y'all! Hell will be pleased for sure." The leader said, holding the gun to our faces.

"Who's Hell?" Joel asked.

The leader gasped.

"Oh, y'all don't know her name? Well... I **guess **I could tell you once."

There was a silence as the man stepped closer.

"Your home... now belongs to Aria."

* * *

I was with Scootaloo, who was still unaware of the bite.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." I nodded.

Scootaloo sighed and went to see Celestia.

I finally had enough.

I sprang up and bolted to the bathroom. I locked the door and searched for what I needed. I found it, and I pulled it out.

A strand of sandpaper.

I pulled my shirt down and held the sandpaper right over it. I realized what I was doing and tossed the sandpaper to the ground, opened the door, and shut it.

* * *

Half of us were confused, but not me.

I knew that name.

"Now, let's see those weapons. Come on." The leader said.

We gave him our weapons.

"Good. Now..." The leader drew a gun.

"You see, usually, we introduce ourselves by just killing one of you right off the bat, but this is a special case." He said.

"How so?" I asked.

"Well, you see, Aria's boyfriend deeply cares about our treaty, so this might be a trick. We COULD kill you, but that'd be a violation. So, I should kindly ask y'all to go back to your caves and stay away from here." The leader said as he holstered his gun.

Caves?

All I could do was tell the others to leave with me.

* * *

I was going to see Celestia when I heard a scream. I grabbed a kitchen knife and ran to the screaming. I saw what seemed to be a Crystal Prep student stand over Celestia, who had her hand over her stomach with blood spilling.

She was stabbed.

The man looked up and held a pocket knife.

"Quick... or slow?" He asked.

"Neither." A voice said behind me.

I turned around and saw Rin with a gun from the armory and drew it at the man.

Celestia turned and coughed.

"RIN, NO!" She cried.

Rin pulled the trigger and the man collapsed with a bullet to the head.

I saw Kyle dash out and grab Celestia.

"What happened?!" He asked.

She was silent, as she passed out.

"MEDIC! GET THE MEDIC!" Kyle called.

Me and Rin bolted to get the medic.

"What is it?" The medic asked.

"CELESTIA'S BEEN STABBED!" Sombra said, running through the door.

"Shit. Scootaloo, get the gurney. Rin, I need you to get clean towels, sutures, bandages, and all of the string you can find."

"Sure, Mr..."

"Nicholas. My name's Nicholas." He said as he ran out the door.

* * *

We were on our way home when we heard a gunshot.

We ran the source and found the walls.

"Crap. It came from home!" Sour Sweet said as she ran toward the gates.

We swung them open and we saw Celestia be placed on a stretcher and a man in a Crystal Prep outfit be taken to the cemetery.

"What the hell happened?!" I asked Scootaloo.

"Celestia was stabbed, Rin killed the guy." Scootaloo said as she secured the straps.

We helped the medic bring Celestia to the infirmary, where she was taken to the back.

"What happened out there?" Sombra asked.

"We got raided. Crystal Prep. Sombra, get Kyle." I said.

"Why?" Sombra asked.

"Because we know who Hell is." Joel said.

Sombra nodded and ran out the doors.

* * *

Sombra told me to head for the imfirmary. I opened the door and saw that Rainbow and her crew were back.

"What is it?" I asked.

"We know who Hell is." Joel said.

"Okay, who is she?" I asked.

"Her name's Aria Blaze." Rainbow said.

_Aria Blaze..._

Why does that name sound so...

Familiar?

"Who's Aria?" I asked.

"She's my sister." I heard Sonata say as the door shut.

"Yeah, she is..." Rainbow started.

"Wait, what're you saying?" I asked.

"I have no idea. But Kyle, they're armed and dangerous." Rainbow said.

"You're damn right they are..." Celestia said, walking out of the gurney with a bandage on her stomach.

"How bad is it?" I asked the medic.

"Not too bad. Dale missed any internal organs and we got to her in time to stop the bleeding." He said.

"Thank you, Nicholas. Now we have better things to take care of. They're going to learn that Dale won't be going back and they'll think we broke the treaty." Celestia panicked.

"Wait, what **treaty?!**" I asked.

Celestia let out a sigh.

"When the apocalypse first started, Crystal Prep became a safe haven for everyone who came to the gates. Everyone... but us. We held our ground and made Canterlot High what it was when you found it. But... it had a price. After we were raided, we negotiated with Aria to set up terms. The deal was this: **We don't kill them, they don't kill us.**"

Rin stepped up.

"I'm sorry, it was my fault. I killed him." She said.

"I know. Like I said, we have other issues to worry about. Aria's people crossed the border line, they're planning an assault." Celestia said as she unlocked the armory.

We went inside and Celestia grabbed my gun. She held it out to me, grip first.

"Here. Keep yourself safe." She said.

I took it and placed it in my holster. I also grabbed my M16 and slung it on my back. I grabbed a few mags and boxes of ammo and walked out.

"Now what?" Sonata asked.

"**Now what? **Now, we help them fight. They need this place as much as we do." I said.

"What are you saying?" Diamond asked.

"I'm saying we take the fight to them. Rainbow said she saw 20, well there're more of us than there are of them. We fight, find some cover while I talk and distract them. When I give the word..." I grabbed the RPG and a rocket.

"...Blow them back to Hell. The **real** thing." I said.

Everyone nodded and started grabbing weapons. I decided to go and check the wall when I heard the voice again.

"_Don't do it... Call the attack off._" It said.

"_No. We need to do this._" I said back mentally.

"_No... you can't._"

I stayed silent as I went around the wall. I went closer and heard ticking. I leaned my head in and it went faster.

It was a bomb.


	33. The Secrets We Keep

The wall broke down and about 500 Runners came in. I rose up and bolted to the houses to warn people, but the Runners did it for me. Some of the people aimed their guns and opened fire.

"GET INSIDE, GO!" I said.

People ran inside while some still were opening fire. I pulled out my Judge and blasted one with a shotgun shell. The recoil caused me to knock my head and pass out right in front of the herd.

Can't die...

Can't...

* * *

I saw Kyle get passed out. We all added cover fire, but it was useless. They ran...

Right past him.

"Why isn't he..." A man said.

"DON'T LET UP!" I screamed.

We kept opening fire as the herd came closer. But it was hopeless. One of our guys got tackled and ripped apart. Another joined him.

"GO, SCOOTALOO, GO!" One man screamed as he was getting bitten.

I ran to the nearest house and locked the door.

Why didn't Kyle... he was right in front of them...

I heard automatic gunfire from outside, and I knew that people were managing it. Then, I saw Adagio fight the Runners right in the middle of it. They were practically ignoring her...

And Kyle.

Are they connected somehow? Are they... could they be...

Related?

* * *

I woke up in the infirmary with Nicholas checking my head.

"Thought you wouldn't wake up." He said.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"About a day. We cleared out the herd and we're investigating what happened." Nicholas said.

"Someone set a bomb. It went off and the herd came through." I said.

"Do you know how you're not dead?"

"W... yeah, I guess someone got me out of there, right...?" I asked.

"No. The herd practically **ignored **you. They just ran past you like a stampede. Also, they ignored one of your own. The one with the large orange hair... Adagio, right?" Nicholas asked.

"Yeah, that's her name. What are you saying, then?" I asked nervously.

"I need a blood sample for a simple DNA test. I already have Adagio and Sonata's, I just need yours." Nicholas held out a syringe.

I nodded and he took the sample.

"You didn't even **flinch. **You must have a high tolerence for pain." Nicholas said.

"Yeah... Crystal Prep does that to you." I said.

"I should have the results by noon. You should see your people, Scooaloo's been worried."

I nodded and went out to see the others.

A.K.A, Adagio and Scootaloo.

"What is it?" I asked.

"You were both ignored by them. What aren't you telling us?" Scootaloo asked.

"I- I don't know. All I know is that I was knocked out by the recoil and I woke up here." I said.

"I know what's been happening..." Adagio said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"KYLE! ADAGIO! YOU SHOULD COME SEE THIS!" I heard Nicholas shout.

We ran in and I saw what seemed to be a close-up of the blood samples.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Look at this... the cells are **SPIKING,** they are a deep shade of red. At least... that's in Adagio's blood." Nicholas changed it to mine, which had some of these cells and the rest were typical.

"What does this mean?" I asked.

"I have no idea. Adagio, could you possibly tell us?" Nicholas asked.

Adagio let out a sigh and took a seat.

"Me and Kyle **are **related." Adagio said right off the bat.

There was a short period of silence in the room as Scootaloo and Sonata came and shut the door.

"**What?**" I asked.

"You heard me. Me, Sonata, and Aria are your half-sisters." Adagio said.

"_I hoped they'd tell you..._" The voice...

**Aria** said.

"Kyle, have you been hearing any voices in your head?" Sonata asked suddenly.

"Yes. Yes, I have. I've been hearing her ever since we left Sanctuary." I said.

"Kyle, the voice is Aria communicating with you telepathically. She's trying to get you on her side of the prophecy." Adagio said.

"Wait... what **prophecy?**" I asked.

"Man, Henry really didn't tell you anything, did he?" Adagio asked.

That was it. I grabbed my gun and drew it on her.

"**How do you know that name?! What the HELL'S going on here?!**" I asked.

"Kyle... you can't be attacked by them, and neither can we. That's all that manners now." Sonata said.

I nodded and lowered the gun.

"Is there anything else I should know?" I asked Adagio.

"Just go home. Somewhere there's all the answers you need." Adagio said.

Home? She doesn't mean...

The orphanage.

* * *

Me and Sonata were headed back to what was left of Sanctuary Orphanage. We saw the rubble of the main building, and we saw the cabins which were still up.

"Feels like we're just heading back." I said.

"Yeah... it does." Sonata said as she parked.

I grabbed my Judge and we went to the rubble.

"Anything we could see?" Sonata asked.

"One night, I saw him move a vending machine and walk down a stairway. Maybe we can still find the stairs." I said as we moved the rubble.

I started to remember the fire that took Dad's life. I remember the blood-shrilled screams of my friends that were melted to a crisp by the fire, Dad...

"I found it!" Sonata said.

I snapped out of it and I ran over to her. We saw the stairs and I pulled out a flashlight. We walked down to what seemed to be a set of computers and desks.

"Search the desks." I said.

Sonata went through and we saw what seemed to be birth certificates.

MY birth certificates.

"Are these... fake?" Sonata asked.

"Yeah, they are..." I said.

We kept looking until we found a video tape. We played it and we saw what seemed to be Dad.

"For my son, or whoever managed to find this when the world ends... I'm sorry. This was my fault, really. My son could've been purely human, my... my daughter would be happy with him as a brother. But... this isn't what happened. Instead, Kyle's mother just so happens to be the Siren Queen."

"Wait, Beth?!" I asked.

"My current wife, Beth Williams, has some recognition of Kyle's past, but not completely. I had Kyle a few years after I had Scootaloo."

SCOOTALOO?!

I paused the video.

"Scootaloo's my sister?!" I cried.

"My, God..." Sonata said.

I sighed and resumed the video. I had to know more.

"Kyle, I am so sorry to put this much weight on your shoulders. I always told you that you would be a great man, that you would take on the family buisness, but... you are either our messiah, or our destructor. That's on me, not you. So, whatever happens between now and the end of the world, make it count. Fight to make sure that you aren't like them."

I stopped the video right then and there.

I **didn't** make it count. I just let it slip, and to finish it off...

This bite on my neck.

This...

FILTHY

GOD-DAMNED

DISQUSTING

HICKEY!

"Go. Now." I said as I went to find...

Something.

I found a strand of sandpaper in a drawer. I hear Sonata ask what I was doing.

I aimed it, and I pulled back.

I did it again.

Again.

Again.


	34. Restart

It's been a week ever since I found out about me and Scootaloo being related. We decided unanimously that it'd be best to date someone who _isn't _our half-sister.

I was working on my knife arm, sharpening the blade a little, when I saw Sonata walk to the door.

"Did you see where Adagio went? I hate it when she slips out, makes me think she's doing something we'll regret..." She asked.

"Nope, not that I know of." I said as I put my arm back on.

"Well, might wanna go find her. It's bad enough we gotta bunk with her. We don't need her getting us into any more trouble..." Scootaloo said as she walked out of the bathroom.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she's just grabbing something from the pantry or something." I reassured as I went out the door to see the pantry.

I went to the pantry and saw no sign of Adagio. I started to worry and went to the gate. The vehicles were still there, and the wall was still up.

"What are you doing?" Celestia asked behind me.

"Looking for Adagio, we're worried she's doing something she shouldn't." I said.

"You don't trust her?"

"Well... _trust_ is a strong word, but we should still keep an eye on her." I said as I started looking through the main gate for any sign that she left.

"She's at the armory keeping guard." Celestia said.

"**What?! **You trusted Adagio to keep guard? _Adagio?_" I asked.

"Yes, I did. She seems to have an eye on people. That might be useful in the right place."

"In- in what, prostitution?" I asked.

"Keeping an eye on people who are acting the way they shouldn't." Celestia said sternly.

I knew what she was talking about. I sighed in partial relief, knowing that Adagio isn't doing something she shouldn't.

"Kyle? Come here, please." I heard Twilight say.

I was finally able to see what she wanted and I saw...

Footsteps.

"Shit. Did you find who left this?" I asked.

"No, but it looks like it leads out the wall. We got a spy, no doubt." Twilight said.

"I'll keep watch at the school." Celestia said.

"But who'll take over?" Luna asked.

"Simple: You." Celestia said pointing at me.

"Me? No, that's not how we do things." I said.

"However you do it, do it." Celestia said as she went to the armory.

"Can you even use that?" I asked her as she grabbed a Glock.

"Like a cellphone." Celestia grabbed a box of bullets.

She went out the gates and I called everyone for a meeting.

"Everyone, earlier today, we found signs that someone was inside the walls. Don't panic, we think they left as soon as they came." I said.

"You think?!" I heard a voice say.

"Yes, we think." Twilight said.

"Calm down. We're here to talk about Celestia. She left to take point at the old high school to make sure we're aren't being hunted. She said that I'm in charge, but this is how we're going to do it: A handful of us, me, Twilight, Sunset, Rainbow, Luna, Sombra, and Johnny will make decisions, but all of you have a say on what happens." I promised.

"Why should we trust you? For all we know, you could've killed her!" The same voice said.

"Hey! We _saw _her leave. Don't think this way." Luna said.

"Everyone, listen. I've known Kyle since we left CHS. He's a good man, and there's no way he would do something like that. If you don't trust him, trust _us_." Sunset said.

After this, the crowd calmed down and the meeting was finished.

"Kyle." I heard Nicholas say.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I wanna do a blood test of Starswirl. I just want to see if he's okay." He said.

"Sure. I'll get Adagio." I said.

"Don't bother. I got her just now." Nicholas said.

"But... why tell me, then?" I asked.

"He's practically your nephew. I just wanted you to know." Nicholas simply said.

Nicholas had that tone and way of life that reminded me of my father in plenty of ways.

"Kyle!" I heard Sonata say.

I bolted over and I saw a hooded figure hop over the walls.

"Hey, STOP!" I cried.

It was too late, the figure was gone, but I noticed that a drop of blood was left.

"Get Nicholas." I ordered.

Twilight said she would keep guard. I saw that a strand of cloth was left behind. A necktie.

Wait, is this...

It _can't _be.

"KYLE! COME HERE, NOW!" Nicholas shouted fearfully.

I kept the necktie and ran down.

"What is it?" I asked, panting for breath.

"The blood results... Kyle, I'm so sorry. I didn- I didn't see-" Cinch broke down on an office chair.

"Cinch, what are you-"

"_I didn't see what she would do_."

I went in and I saw Nicholas looking at me.

"What is it?" I asked.

Not a word.

"Where's Starswirl?!" I asked.

"Kyle..." Nicholas started.

I looked at the results that were on a projector. I couldn't make it out, but I knew it wasn't good.

"...Starswirl's father... is _you_."

Those words sent the final chill down through my body. How could he be mine?

Wait...

I didn't...

"No." I said outright.

No words said.

"No!"

Nothing.

"_No! There's no way!_"

Nothing.

* * *

I held my katana, ready to strike at the intruder, but Kyle ran out as fast as he could.

"Kyle?" I called.

He bolted past me and jumped at the wall.

"Kyle! Kyle, _wait!_" I cried.

I started climbing the wall with him. I saw him run toward the highway. I got on a bike, started it up, and started following him.

Whatever happened, he has to tell me.


	35. On The Road Again

I was on top of a truck, watching a herd pass by me with no interest, despite me being open prey. I was about a few miles away from Canterlot. I couldn't go back, not yet.

Not until Chrysalis is dead.

After the herd moved, I did. I decided to see if she was at Crystal Prep, but I couldn't get too close. I was out the gates, that were walled by an even mountain of zombies all around, with sentries on the top, just like in my dream. I looked through my scope and saw the sentries up close. They were holding what looked like AKs, but no way to be sure. I looked harder, but Walkers went up first. They shot them, and I could tell that they were definitely AKs. I knew there was no getting close without getting shot, so I decided to move on.

I went to the highway and tried to move on. I noticed a road sign, spray-painted with the words

**LIL' GIDEON'S Z-SLAYING CONTEST, 1 MILE NORTH.**

I decided that there had to be a winning prize of some kind, and since zombies ignore me, I moved toward it. When I came up on it, it was a form of farm, or field, as nothing was there that wasn't before. But, whoever Gideon is, he moved a trailer in and there were cars parked outside. I went towards it and 2 gunners came out and drew their weapons.

"You here for the contest?" One of them asked.

"Yeah." I said.

"Good thing you're armed, we barely have weapons to hand out, especially since we got first prize." The second gunner said.

"What's first prize?" I asked.

"You'll see..." The gunner said.

I came in and saw a curtain on the trailer. As I went with the crowd, a loudspeaker went off.

"Everyone, survivors, sinners, groups, loners. Prepare to welcome... _LIL' GIDEON!_"

The curtain rolled up, and someone who looked at least 18, with hair that made Adagio look normal. It was at least one foot high, with a curve at the front.

"Howdy, everyone! Welcome to the first, and hopefully not the last, Lil' Gideon Z-Slayin' Contest!"

The crowd cheered loudly, which I hope didn't bring zombies.

"Any other time, we'd be a trading post, but now we're expanding our enterprise. Whoever slaughters the most Zs and lives, earns _first prize!_" Gideon cried.

This was when I heard an engine roar. A vehicle drove in, it looked heavily fortified.

"_This _is The Changeling. It's armored with military-grade steel, it has heated seating, bio-fuel, solar panels, and to top it all off..." Gideon pulled out a handgun.

"See this? _This _is a Smith &amp; Wesson XVR 460 Magnum. Fresh scope, high caliber, the works... And this only goes to first prize, along with the car." Gideon confirmed.

I needed that car, I needed that handgun.

And I was going to get it.

"All right, auditions are up ahead. Take your time, you will all get your chance." Gideon said.

I went in line when I took a note of the car. It had small numbers written on the side of it.

* * *

I followed Kyle's footsteps to a road sign that was spray-painted. It looked like some competition. I noticed a Walker creep towards me from the bushes. I pulled out my katana and dispatched it; when it fell, I saw 3 people come out behind the bush. One with a rifle, one with a spear, and one with a handgun.

"Drop the sword." One of them said.

I took note of their appearance. One of them, the only male, had blue, slightly spiky hair, a dark school uniform (clearly not Crystal Prep), and he was holding the rifle. The other one, the one with the spear, had deep red hair, which was done slightly, and a normal white t-shirt. The last one had long blonde hair, and she was holding the handgun.

"Easy. I don't want any trouble, I'm just looking for my friend." I said as I lowered the sword.

"So are we. You with Autumn?" The male asked.

"Autumn? Who- who's that?" I asked.

"Wait, you don't know?" The one with the spear asked.

"Ako, she's lying." The one with the rifle said.

"Keita, if she was lying, why aren't we dead yet?" The one with the handgun asked.

Keita lowered the rifle.

"Autumn's the co-leader of Crystal Prep, with Aria Blaze." Keita said.

"Alright. Thanks for letting me know." I said as I grabbed my sword.

"Look, if you're headed there, be careful. Autumn does business with the owner, Gideon." Ako said.

"My friend's probably there. He's good at killing them, and he has some steam to let out." I said as I headed after it.

I noticed that they were following me, not that I cared.

I could use all of the help I could get.

* * *

"Round one! Simple, 5 Zs each, slow ones, go!" Gideon said.

A truck drove by and 5 Walkers crept on behind it. There were 8 of us, so there were 40 Walkers in total. I headed after 4, and the others followed me. One of them came at the guy behind me, and I swung my machete at it's neck, slaying it as quick as it came. I noticed another one, so I used my knife arm.

"Hoo! I want one of those..." Gideon said.

I saw another one, and I killed it, 3 down.

2 to go.

Another one attacked one of the competitors and sunk its teeth into his shoulder.

"You're out!" Gideon said as a silenced gunshot hit him in the head.

I got the last one and I watched the others finish their job.

"7 competitors left! Nice knife arm, by the way." Gideon said, pointing at me.

I nodded and we went to what they called a safe-zone, a pit in the ground with chain-link set up around it. Before the next round could start, we hear a car drive up. It stopped and doors opened. I couldn't tell who it was, but I heard a familiar voice say

"Gideon! It's time for another trade!"


	36. Run

I looked up slightly to see a man with a necklace, shining two red lights off of it. At first, I thought it was the angle of the sun, but I quickly learned that I was wrong...

"Autumn! I- I thought the trade was tomorrow!" Gideon said.

"Nope, not as far as _our _calender goes." One gruffy voice said.

"Well, look, I'm in the middle of a competition right now, the one I told y'all about?"

"Ugh, don't tell me you're really going through with that zombie contest..." Autumn said.

"It's good money! Or... whatever these people paid, anyways..." Gideon said.

"Give us half. Half of everything these people have paid." The gruffy voice said.

"Um, Hell, we should talk this through, I need everything these people paid to keep this going, how about I give you the winner, instead of first prize." Gideon said.

I should've known. Gideon screwed all of these people, myself included. Now whoever won was going to Crystal Prep, instead of winning the car.

"Everyone, uh... There's been a sudden change in plans. The winner will have to be chosen now." Gideon said as he let Autumn step up.

"Here's how we're doing this. All of the zombies, whoever is left standing is the winner." Autumn said as he pulled the lever and left it.

Over 200 Walkers poured out of the gates. The contestants started fighting, but they were quickly overrun. I knew how this was going to go: I can't get attacked, so I'm going to win by default.

"Wait, who's that one?" The gruffy voice asked, pointing at me.

"I... don't know. I didn't even bother with names, you know, considerin'..." Gideon started.

"YOU! The one with the machete! Come up here." Autumn said, pointing a rifle with a barbed-wire stock at me.

I walked up, listening to the howls and screams of the dead, and the soon-to-be.

"Who are you?" Autumn asked.

"You know me, Autumn Flier. It's me, Kyle." I said, holding my arms out.

"Holy shit... it's him." Hell said.

"I knew it. You're alive..." Autumn said as he lowered his rifle.

"Okay, I win. Now, keys." I said to Gideon, holding my hand out.

"Yeah, 'bout that... uh..." Gideon said.

"_What?_" I asked.

"I don't have the keys."

"WHAT? How could you have the car, but not have the keys?!" I asked.

"Because Chrysalis has it." Hell said.

"...Where is she?" I asked.

"Back home. Back at CP." Autumn said.

"Actually, I could call her up, have her meet us here. She's _really _eager to see you again..." Hell said.

I quickly drew my M16.

"Whoa, whoa. Be cool. We don't mean no trouble..." Autumn said.

"_You _have the keys. I see them in your pocket. Keys, _now_. Or I blow all of your heads off and I take the car. Screw the gun." I said.

Before any of us could say a word, the 20 Runners started climbing the fence.

"Shit, Zs!" Autumn said.

Autumn and Hell started opening fire. I quickled grabbed the keys from Autumn's pocket and tried to make a run for it, but Autumn smashes my head first.

"Hand us the keys, and we'll let you walk away." Autumn said.

I refused, placing the keys in my pocket.

"Damn... we can't kill him... Fine. Take the car, take _Gideon_ if you want. But, the next time we meet, you won't be walking away..." Autumn said.

I started making my way to the car, when I saw Gideon follow me.

"Why should I bring you?" I asked.

"Come on, you can't just leave me here! I know places, _people_. Trust me." Gideon said.

I took a minute to consider this. If he knows people like he says, I might be able to stock up, maybe get weapons for CHS.

"What places? Places with guns, traders?" I asked.

"Yes, I know at least one." Gideon said.

I went to the car, and started it. I opened one of the 6 passenger seats, and honked at Gideon.

"Thank you! You won't regret this, I promise." Gideon said.

"I'm droping you off at one of these 'places', after you hook me and my community up for supplies." I said.

Gideon nodded and put the seatbelt on. Before I could take off, I heard a familiar voice.

"Kyle! Kyle!" Twilight called.

I stopped, opened the door, and ran out.

"What the hell are you doing out here?!" I asked to her.

"I was about to ask the same thing! Kyle, you scared the hell out of everyone, what happened?" Twilight asked.

"Hi, there." A male voice said.

I quickly rose my gun, but Twilight lowered it.

"They're friends of mine. Kyle, meet Keita, Ako, and Yūzuki." Twilight said.

"Good to see another human face." Keita said.

"Good to see another _male _face." I said.

Keita chuckled and we all hopped in the car.

"Wait. Those numbers... it looks like a code." Twilight said.

"I know, but we have no idea what it means, or how to decode it." I said.

"Wait... 19, 39, 3... those numbers... you have a periodic table on you?" Twilight asked.

"I have one." Gideon said.

"And who the hell are you?" Twilight asked.

"He's Gideon. He led this place." I said.

"Here." Gideon said, holding out a periodic table, laminated to a whiteboard.

"19, K. 39, Y. 3, Li. Kyli?" Twilight guessed.

I knew that name. It was a typo Chrysalis made on my first day at Crystal Prep. She called me that name ever since, as a form of joke. Autumn said that Chrysalis had the keys...

"Holy shit... this is Chrysalis's car!" I said as I took my M16, ready to shoot anything that moved.

"Kyle, no-one else is here. If she was here, she would've shown herself. Come on, let's just go home." Twilight said.

"I can't. Not until she's dead." I said.

"Why?" Twilight asked.

"Hey! Y'all coming or what?! Not to push y'all, but we got zombies." Gideon said.

"I'll talk later, right now, I'm driving." I said.

We went in the car and I handed Gideon a map to give us directions to the safe-zone Gideon told us about.

"It should be a few miles from here, it's a safe-zone the government created when the first outbreaks came up in Russia." Gideon said.

"It's still standing?" Twilight asked.

"You'll see when we get there." Gideon said.


	37. Chance Encounter

We arrived at the safe-zone Gideon spoke of. The walls were about 50 meters high, made of solid concrete, and only God knows how thick they were, because we saw about 20 guards at the top, with weapons pointed at us.

"DROP YOUR WEAPONS, STEP OUT OF THE CAR, AND KEEP YOUR HANDS UP!" A soldier said with a megaphone.

We got out and did what the man said.

"Gideon, what the hell is this, man?' The soldier asked.

"My name's Kyle Williams. This is Twilight Sparkle, Keita Suminoe, Ako Suminoe, and Yūzuki." I said.

"Wait. Kyle Williams... Holy shit..." I heard the soldier say.

"What?" Twilight asked.

"Come inside. Open the gate, Travis." The soldier said.

The large gate started going up and we drove inside.

"Car goes there, and Kyle, see that soldier after." Travis said.

"You got it." I said.

We parked the Changeling with the other cars, and I went to see that soldier.

"Yeah?" I asked.

The soldier took off the mask, and I saw...

I saw...

Oh, my God.

"Hey, son. We should talk."

* * *

"What time did he leave?!" Rainbow asked me.

"I don't know, a few hours ago, at least." I said.

Rainbow grabbed her bat from the armory, along with a revolver.

"I'm going after him, don't even _try _to stop me, Rin." Rainbow said as she ran up to a car.

"I'm going, too." I said.

"Me and Cinch'll take another car, cover more ground. Cinch, come on!" Firefly said as she tried to knock Cinch out of her daze.

"This was my fault... all of this..." Cinch said as she didn't move, her expression never changed.

"Cinch?" I asked.

Cinch started looking dizy.

"Cinch!" Firefly said.

Cinch snapped out of it and they went to the car.

"Rin, you stay here, I'm going." Gary said.

"What, why?" I asked.

"Because _I know where he's_ _going_." Gary said.

* * *

"D- D... Dad? How... how...?" I started.

I couldn't finish my sentence as I bolted to him and held him in an embrace.

"We have a lot to talk about..." Dad said.

"Yeah, we do. About Aria." I said.

Dad looked startled.

"You know them?" Dad asked.

"Adagio and Aria? Yeah." I said.

"They didn't... they didn't try anything?" Dad asked worryingly.

"What? No!" I said, quickly understanding his meaning.

"Oh, thank God!" Dad said in instant relief.

"Dad, what's going on? Beth's not my mother, I have a half-sister, -who's still alive, by the way- and Walkers ignore me." I asked.

"Like I said, we have a lot to talk about, but not here." Dad said.

"Yeah, not here. We're going back." I said to Twilight.

"You got it." Twilight said.

"Wait, going back where?" Dad asked.

"Canterlot High. We have about 10 blocks of it walled." I said.

"Is Beth there?" Dad asked.

I froze. He doesn't know...

"No. I'm sorry. She's... she isn't..." I started.

Dad was frozen in sadness.

"We don't have time. I'll explain everything back _home_." I said.

Dad looked at Travis.

"Of course. It's been an _honor _fighting alongside you, Mr. Williams." Travis said, saluting.

"When we're done, we should discuss trade." I said.

"You got it." Dad said as he wiped a tear and we headed for the Changeling.

* * *

Me and that Rainbow girl were looking for Kyle.

"How long have you known Kyle?" I asked her.

"About 2 years." She said.

"I always saw him on the bus, after Chrysalis." I said.

"Wait, what happened with Chrysalis?" Rainbow asked.

I realized that he didn't tell everyone.

"Hopefully, he'll tell you soon enough." I said.

We were silent as we drove down the road. We saw a car pass by, a dark one, with about 7 passengers in it.

In the window, I saw Kyle.

We parked the car, ran out, and I saw Rainbow shout out. The car stopped, drifted around, and Kyle came out.

"What are you doing out here?!" Rainbow asked.

"Something I had to." I said.

"Oh? I see you made some friends while I was gone..." A man with some burns on his body said.

"Who the hell's this?" Rainbow asked.

Kyle took a breath.

"Rainbow, this my dad, Henry. Henry, Rainbow." Kyle said.

"Wait, you said he died in a fire." Rainbow said.

"We'll explain everything, but later." I said.

* * *

Me and Cinch were driving through a neighborhood, Changeling Blvd., looking for any sign of Kyle. What we found was a burnt house up ahead.

"That was her house... He was here." Cinch said as she walked out of the car.

"Who's _she_?" I asked.

"Chrysalis. She... molested Kyle." Cinch bluntly said.

I silently gasped, before snapping back into it.

"Look, you're not that woman anymore, alright? The woman who bribed Twilight, who beat Kyle to a pulp, _you're not that woman_. You're trying to change." I said as I held my hand out.

"Go. Go back home. I can't go back." Cinch said.

"Why?" I asked.

"...Because Chrysalis had a baby after Kyle." Cinch said.

* * *

We were at the gates. I flashed the headlights the signal we came up with, they opened, and I parked the car.

"Damn, where did you find this?!" Sonata asked.

"Contest. From that guy." I said, pointing at Gideon.

"Uh, hi." Gideon said.

"That's Keito, Ako, and Yūzuki." Twilight said.

"Sonata? Is that you?" Dad said as he got out of the car.

"Yeah, how do you..." Sonata started.

Dad ran to Sonata and held her in an embrace. When Sonata realized who he is, she started crying and held him tighter.

"What happened out there? Why did you leave?" Rainbow asked.

I was silent. I choked a breath, and I looked at the town.

"Gather everyone in the middle of town. I have something I need to say." I said.


	38. Truth

"I haven't been as honest to you as I should've. Something's happened to me that I never wanted to tell you. But now... I have to." I started.

"What happened?" Rainbow asked nervously.

"First thing's first: Where's Sombra?" I asked.

Sombra stepped up.

"Don't bother, Cinch told me after you left. I should've seen it sooner... I should've..." Sombra whispered.

"Well... I was... I..."

* * *

The meeting was over, and I had to live with what I just told them.

"Kyle?" Luna called.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I talked to Sombra about what happened. He knew that she was... _doing things _with students, but they were _seniors_, he said. They would've been gone by the end of the year..." Luna started.

"You like him, don't you?" I asked.

Luna was silent, until she turned away and nodded.

"He was a good man. Probably the only one who didn't beat me other than..."

Luna walked back to the way she came, and I went back to my house.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Scootaloo asked, who was on the porch.

"I forgot. Okay? In that basement, I forgot a lot of things. Mostly everything from Crystal Prep just slipped away, and..." I started.

"And?" Scootaloo asked.

"And then I met you." I said.

Scootaloo was silent as she got up and held me in an embrace. I held her back, when my dad came up and joined in.

"I thought something had happened..." Dad said.

"Look, I'm sorry. Not that it helps..." I said.

"At the end of the day, this _saved _you." Dad said cryptically.

"Saved me from what?" I asked.

"That's a story for another day." Dad said.

I hated when he did this. He would keep some of this prophecy a secret from me, even after I told him what happened.

"I'll be right back." I said.

"Where are you going?" Scootaloo asked.

"I'm going to check on Sombra. Then, I'm gonna look for Firefly and Cinch." I said.

* * *

Me and Cinch were looking for a car to keep looking, but Cinch wasn't very cooperative. She would just keep zoning out, like she's thinking _heavy_.

Or she's just high.

"Cinch, we should head back." I decided.

"No. We need to find him..." Cinch said.

"Look, maybe he's back already. We won't know until we get home. Rainbow's probably back by now." I said.

Cinch took some time- I thought she was zoning out again- but she nodded.

"Then let's head back." I ordered.

* * *

I found Sombra talking with Luna near the gates. I decided not to bother them, but as I went to turn around, I heard Luna call me.

"Yeah?" I asked.

Sombra took a step closer.

"I'm sorry. I should've stopped her from..."

"At least say what it was..." I said.

"I should've stopped her from _molesting _you." Sombra said.

We were silent as I was next to them now. I decided to ask them about the walls.

"Who built the wall?" I asked.

"I did." Sombra said.

"What?! How?" I asked.

"I studied architecture in my spare time... before I dated Chrysalis." Sombra said.

"Yeah, I forgot that was only your 5th year there." I said.

"Chrysalis was there for 7, at least. If I remember correctly." Sombra said.

"I thought we were talking about something else..." I said.

"Yeah, me too." Luna said.

"Sorry, couldn't help it. Anyway, we found the suburbs after..."

* * *

Me and Cinch were able to find a car, but it had to start.

"When did you start hating Kyle?" I asked.

Cinch was silent as she looked up at me.

"...I didn't hate him, I just... thought it'd change him, make him stronger. But... it did the exact, polar opposite... it made him cold." Cinch said.

I nodded as I went to check the car.

"Did you hate Joel?" I asked.

Cinch froze, I guess she forgot about him.

"I... I threatened to take his college applications away if he didn't comply. I... I _made _him go into that room, and... and..."

That was it. She completely broke down, bawling loud enough to draw Walkers for miles. I just put my hand on her shoulder and patted.

"Like I said, _you're not that woman anymore_." I said.

"You can't possibly beleive that..." Cinch said.

"I do." I said.

"Thanks... for trying." Cinch held a gun up to her head.

"NO!"

* * *

I got in the Changeling and started it up. I was about to walk out when Rainbow came to the window.

"Wait for me." Rainbow said.

"Yeah. You got it." I said as Rainbow opened a door and hopped in.

Sombra and Sunset opened the gates and I drove out and started searching to where Rainbow told me they were sent.

"They went back to Chrysalis's home?" I asked Rainbow.

"Yeah. Gary said you would've gone there." Rainbow answered.

"I _did _go back, but a while ago." I said.

"What did you do?" Rainbow asked.

We pulled up and I saw that some of it was still smoldering.

"_That's _what I did." I said.

We were silent as I noticed foot tracks.

"They must've headed this way." I said as I slowly drove, following the tracks.

We kept driving until we found what seemed to be a car. The tracks stopped there...

"I got it." I said as I hopped out.

I went up to the car, but saw...

Cinch.

She layed by the car, with a small red dot on her temple, with a gun in her hand.

"No..." I said.

Rainbow came out and saw her.

"Help me get those trash bags." I said with my voice starting to crack.

Before we could, Firefly came out and ran at us.

"Rainbow!" Firefly said.

They quickly ran to each other, and I have no idea what they did next- it sounded intimate- as I grabbed two trash bags for Cinch.

"I heard what happened with Chrysalis... I guess she couldn't take it." Firefly said.

We were interuppted by smoke coming from the sky- black smoke.

"What's that?" Firefly asked.

"Looks far. Looks like it's coming from..." I started.

We hopped in the Changeling and _drove_.


	39. Retribution

I was looking at my watch, taking my post on the gate. I saw Scootaloo come up to the stairs.

"You think we'll find her? Chrysalis?" She asked.

I was silent as I nodded.

"If we do, what then?" Scootaloo asked.

"Simple: _I take the shot._" I said.

"Sombra..." Scootaloo started.

"I knew what she did. I knew, and I did _nothing._" Sombra said.

* * *

After I failed to talk sense into Sombra, I decided to see Diamond, who I found around back, training with her staff.

"Who taught you that?" I asked.

"A friend." Diamond was quick to answer, and she didn't stop.

I took the hint that she wanted to be alone, so I figured I might as well visit Rin. She was helping guard the gate with Sombra.

"How do you feel about this?" I asked her.

"What, Kyle being a father? Him _lying_ to us?" Rin asked.

"Kyle never lied, Rin." I started in Kyle's defense.

"He never told us, either." Rin said.

"Look, it's bad, I know. What else can we do? It's _done_." I said.

"Did you ever think _this _is why he was who he was back at Sanctuary? He was trying to get over it, so he tried to get above it..." Rin said.

"You sound like you know what you're talking about." I said.

Before we could say any more, we heard an explosion from the wall.

We ran to the wall and saw a man standing on a truck with a grenade belt.

"Hello, there! I'm Autumn Flier; co-leader of Crystal Prep. I'm here to talk revenge. You killed one of my own, and, according to the precious treaty... We get payback."

Autumn reached in the truck, and pulled out an RPG.

"Give me your shit, or I fire..." Autumn said.

"Autumn?!" Sunset asked.

Autumn glanced, slowly lowered, and started cackling.

"Well, look who found their way home! God, this is too good!"

We looked behind him to see over 20 cars with over 3 dozen men on top.

"Like this? We meet a lot of _followers_, you know..." Autumn said as he held a necklace with to bright gems off of it.

Wait, it can't be...

"Allow me to explain myself. You see, after Sunset, I left Canterlot for Crystal Prep- the biggest damn mistake I've ever made- for a new start. But, that 'start' was met with violence, beatings, and more freakin' violence. Then, after my sister... I lost it." Autumn said as he pulled a rifle out from his back.

"Wait, Sunset, what is he talking about?" Rin asked Sunset, who was with us.

Sunset was stunned, all she did was stare with one hand on her holster.

"_Sunset, _what is he talking about?" I asked again.

"Line them up! Shadowbolts, too." Autumn called.

* * *

We were a mile away from home after we saw the smoke and high-tailed.

"What happened?" I asked Firefly.

"I don't know. I... I was questioning Cinch, and she just..." Firefly didn't say a word as Rainbow scooted closer to her.

"How long were you two together?" I decided to ask.

The two went silent.

"About 2 years before everything went down. She went off to college the year everything happened." Rainbow said.

We drove to the gates, and we were greeted with a truck, with all of the others lined up.

"Oh, my God..." I said as I ran out of the car and opened fire on the truck.

As I did, the attackers- over 20 of them- came up and drew their weapons.

"Hello, Kyle..." I heard Autumn say.

"Autumn..." I muttered.

"Drop your weapons, Ky." Autumn said.

I hesitated, and then lowered my M16. Rainbow and Firefly soon followed.

"Add them to the line." Aria said from the truck.

Guards grabbed us and threw us to the line with the others.

"Now, here's how this is going to work: You killed one of us, so... _I kill one of you._" Autumn said as he grabbed his rifle.

I saw my dad on the left, Scootaloo beside him. The others were scattered across the gate while guards had weapons drawn inside.

"The only question is how we do this. I could do the whole 'Eieny Miney Mo' bullshit, but that'd be a damn _copyright infringement. _So, I have a much better idea..." Autumn flipped his rifle to the barbed end.

"All I'm gonna do is close my eyes, spin in a couple circles, and slam this on someone. Once I do that, I'll finish them off." Autumn loaded the rifle.

I saw Firefly grasp Rainbow's hand. I then felt Twilight hold mine. I grabbed Rainbow's other hand, and it spread.

Autumn closed his eyes...

Twilight lowered her head on my shoulder, and I heard her start to choke up.

Autumn spun one circle...

I lowered my head on hers and closed my eyes.

Two circles...

I heard protests from the crowd in Canterlot.

Three circles...

I started to fear the worst, and I was going to die.

SMAM!

I opened my eyes, and saw Autumn swing his rifle down on...

Adagio.

"Aw, God DAMN IT. Why did it have to be her? UGH, fine!" Autumn flipped his rifle and took his aim.

"Ky... Ky... Ta... ke... Sta... Swi..."

BOOM!

Adagio's body hit the floor and she was gone.

"Well, this just proves my point, then. I didn't want to kill any of you, _really, _I didn't. Mainly around the fact that I just killed my damn _sister-in-law_. Now, who fired the shot on my man?" Autumn said.

Rin stood up before we could stop her.

"Load her in the back." Aria called out.

Guards grabbed Rin and forced her into the back with Aria, and they were gone as quickly as they came.

I turned to see Sonata tearing up at the sight of her dead sister. I went next to her and put my hand on her shoulder.

"She... she was on her way back... she was on her..." Sonata kept rambling as she started sobbing.

"What do we do now?" Dad asked.

"We bury her. And then we get Rin back." I said.


	40. Mall

Adagio's burial was a short one. I was there, along with Sonata, Johnny, and Alice.

"I didn't get to know her like my sister and Alice did, but... she sounded like an interesting character. She sounded like someone who made mistakes, and... and she was starting to make up for that. Just like me." I said.

I had no other words. I realized that we were more alike than I thought...

* * *

I was with Kyle, who was giving Adagio a burial speech, and I started remembering that day when he came over for tutoring. I was so stupid... How could've I not seen it, the way she was looking at him? The way he...

The way he _acted_.

After Kyle gave the speech, I headed down to the empty church nearby and came up with an idea.

I found a sledgehammer nearby and started breaking the chairs down.

I have a plan...

* * *

I decided to see Kyle. He was sitting near Adagio's grave.

"Hey." I said.

"Hey." Kyle sighed.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I just... I can't take care of a child on my own. She wanted me to do it, and... I don't know if I can." He said.

"Why? You've done harder things."

"Yeah, but those end. This, raising a son, doesn't. I'm not saying that I haven't thought about a family with Scootaloo, but this is an entirely different ballgame." I said.

I saw Henry come up.

"If you want, I could care for him until you've made your decision." He said.

"Thank you." I said.

"Of course. As hard as it is for me to stomach, Starswirl _is _my grandson. Nothing can change that." Henry said.

Starswirl was staying with my dad until I could make up my mind. I decided to check on Sonata and Twilight.

"How are you two holding up?" I asked.

"Good. I don't know about Sonata..." Twilight said.

Sonata was clutching a necklace and spinning the gem in the center.

"How did you find it?" I asked.

"Aria dropped it when... you can have it. I can't see that damn thing again." Sonata said.

I took the necklace and decided to put it on. I instantly felt a small rush, but it quickly died out.

"I'm going out on a run. Wanna come with?" Twilight asked.

"Sure, where're we going?" I asked.

Twilight grabbed her katana.

"The mall." She said.

I stopped.

"Wait, THE mall? The one we went to after school?" I asked.

"Yeah, _that _mall." Twilight said.

"I'll get the Changeling." I said.

* * *

We arrived at the mall and parked near the door.

"Shouldn't we do a perimeter check?" I asked.

"Already did." Twilight said.

"What? When?" I asked.

"When I went looking for you, I saw the mall. It was empty, by the looks of it. But, to be sure..." Twilight grabbed a pipe and tapped the door.

We waited for a few minutes, but nothing came.

"They must've cleared out a while ago." Twilight said.

I tried to open the doors, but to no success.

"Step back." Twilight said as she took the pipe and grasped it.

I stood back, and I heard the glass shatter.

"Let's go." Twilight said.

We walked in, and I felt 13 all over again.

"Wow... feels like yesterday we were here last." I said.

"Yeah, it does..." Twilight said.

"What is it? Why are we here?" I asked.

"Because I wanted to talk again. You know, without everyone else eavesdropping?" Twilight said.

I got her point.

"We shouldn't say here long. We should think on how to get Rin back." I said.

"You said you weren't their leader, that they make decisions without you." She said.

"Yeah, but they don't like to." I said.

"I found it." Twilight said.

We went into the oh-so-familiar store-Doughnut Joe's- and took a seat where we always did.

"Feels familiar. I already feel the bumps an old leather..." Twilight joked.

I chuckled, remembering that feeling.

"Yeah, there also was the occasional cockroach sneaking out." I joked back.

Twilight chuckled back.

"Wait, wait. Remember Joe's Special?" Twilight asked.

"Man, those were _amazing_. Made up for everything else. That's why I liked hanging out with you here." I said.

"Yeah, me too..." Twilight said.

I could tell that something was on her mind, but she wouldn't tell me.

"Hey, you alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's just... I feel like I don't know you anymore." Twilight confessed.

"Yeah, it feels the same with me. I haven't seen you in such a long time, and here you are, hair down, no lab coat, sword on your back. What happened to you?" I asked.

"What happened... With you?" Twilight asked.

* * *

I was with Nicholas with Starswirl. I decided to give him a visit.

"Kyle said I should care for him until he's made up his mind." He said, holding Starswirl.

"You ever had kids?" I asked.

"No. I was always traveling before all of this. Shows, tours, conventions..."

I forgot that Nicholas was a magician before this. He said he used to be the assistant, but after the magician before him passed away, he took over the business.

"Scootaloo, I've been meaning to ask you something." Nicholas said.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Do you miss Kyle? You know, as a lover?"

I sighed.

"Sometimes. But, I know that I still have him as a brother." I answered.

Okay, I lied.

I miss Kyle. Every part of me does. But, I know that I need to see him as a brother now, but it's all the more hard knowing that we...

That's a story for another day.

* * *

I was done with clearing the church. I grabbed some scrap metal- the organ pipes, the seat legs, whatver I could find- and put them in a pot to melt. I found some wielding supplies from the armory and layed them out around me. After hammering the windows, and then wielding them shut, I started to make bars out of the molten metal.

We need a cell...


End file.
